


Life Lessons

by DragonSilk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Coming of Age, Drama, F/M, First Love, Love Triangles, Reader-Insert, Romance, Unrequited Love, bildungsroman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 46,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you're young, it's easy to dream about the perfect future. It's easy to believe that maybe you can have your own Disney romance even if the man you dream about isn't much of a prince (but then, the Beast didn't seem like much of one either).</p><p>As you grow up, things become complicated. You change, and what you want starts to change too.  Maybe the man you think you want isn't really the sort of man who will make you happy. </p><p>Mokuba Kaiba / Reader / Seto Kaiba</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! and no profit is being made off of this story. 
> 
> This first chapter originally began as a single one shot. However, I have since extended it to a full chaptered tale. It's quite the lengthy tale with a really slow romance. It also has some character growth for the reader character. She starts out young and a bit emotionally imbalanced (but aren't we all as teenagers?). She grows up over the course of the tale.

You'd always been aware of Seto Kaiba.

Of course that wasn't a hard thing. Nearly everyone was aware of Seto Kaiba. He was a teenage CEO, a jackass to everyone he met, and had the tendency to take over the city like he owned it. After his tournament, you would have had to live under a rock to not be aware of him. 

That wasn't your type of awareness. You weren't constantly aware of him like a fan who kept praying to meet their idol. Nor was the news your constant reminder of his existence. You saw him in person on a weekly basis, and you kept track of all his dealings with your father's company. You didn't know any more about him than the average person. In fact, you probably knew less. You didn't have to scour the internet for details about him so you never did. 

He was part of your life, an unresponsive part of your life but still **there**. His physical presence in your life was constant ever since you were a little girl.

\-----

The first time that you met him, he was visiting your school. He stood out because of his casual clothing. In a private school with enforced uniforms, someone wearing anything different stood out like a sore thumb. The hall was full of students rushing to their next class and talking to their friends, but you still noticed him. He was a lanky boy, not old enough to be an adult but not quite your age either, who seemed to be talking to a teacher. As a nosy little eleven year old, you felt completely compelled to approach him. You wanted to know why he wasn't dressed appropriately for school.

“Are you new here? Aren't you a little too old?” 

The teacher standing next to him scolded you for being rude, but the boy carelessly interrupted. 

“I'm thinking about going to school here.” Then he turned to the teacher. “Could she give me the tour? I'd like to see the school through a student's eyes.” 

“A tour? That sounds like fun!” Especially since it would get you out of all your boring classes.

“I suppose that would be appropriate.” The teacher was clearly reluctant, and you wondered why he was allowing the boy to have his way. Not that it really mattered; you were getting out of classes!

You grinned and introduced yourself to the new boy. 

“Pleased to meet you.” You were so excited that you didn't even notice the omission of his name.

You grabbed the boy's hand and started dragging him around the school. There were lots of fun places to hide when skipping classes, and you thought that he should probably know about all of them. He didn't say much, he simply seemed to be observing you the entire time, but you were having fun just running around the school. 

He finally talked to you when you showed him how to sneak onto the roof.

“Should we be up here?”

“Nope!” You ran over to the edge and waved at him to follow you. “We're super not allowed up here, but it's got such a pretty view!” 

He hesitantly joined you near the edge. “It's nice. Thank you for showing me this.”

“Of course! You've gotta know all the good places to hang out if you're going to go to school here!” Then you realized that the mysterious boy had never told you his name. “Hey! You never introduced yourself!”

“I'm Seto Kaiba. I hope that we can become friends.” He gave you a slight bow and you tried to remember where you'd heard his name before. Then you remembered your father's recent comment about a bratty little upstart who was in control of Kaiba Corporation.

“Kaiba? As in Kaiba Corp? My daddy does business with you!”

He frowned and looked sad. “Well, actually I don't think your father is interested in doing business with me. He keeps refusing to meet with me.”

That was horrible! You couldn't have your daddy making your new friend sad. “Well then you'll just have to come home with me and meet my daddy then!” 

“Really?” 

“Yep!” 

In your little girl head, the matter was absolutely decided, and you took him home with you to meet your daddy. 

The moment you introduced him he started talking business, and you were amazed at the sudden transformation. He'd been your shy, quiet friend, but then he suddenly started talking like an adult! You were awestruck. Your older brother was the one who was being groomed to take over the company, and you were eleven, so most of what they said went completely over your head but that didn't stop you from trying to pay attention to the conversation. It was completely amazing that this boy could have such an adult conversation with your daddy. Your daddy was very smart so you were convinced that Seto must also be very smart. 

At the end of their conversation, your father turned to you and asked you if he should do business with the young Mr. Kaiba.

“Um, well he's my friend, daddy, and I want him to be happy, and it'll make him happy so I think you should!” 

Your father turned to Kaiba with a grin. “Well Mr. Kaiba. It seems the matter is settled. If you keep your promises about the amount of profit you can make my company, then I see no reason to stop doing business with your company.”

“It was nice meeting with you, sir. I'll be sure to send over the paperwork tomorrow.”

You realized that your new friend was leaving. “Good-bye, Seto! We should play together sometime.”

“Of course.” 

Then he was gone. 

He never did end up enrolling in your school, but you never forgot him. He spent an entire day playing with you, and by your eleven-year-old logic, that meant he was now your friend. So when you discovered that Kaiba went to the 'adult' parties, you decided that you would go to those parties too! No matter how boring they were or how disgusted you were by the food. If Seto was there, then the parties were sure to be fun. Friends made everything fun.

Besides, your daddy rarely allowed you to visit him at work, and he wouldn't let you go see Seto at Kaiba Corp. You really wanted to play with Seto again.

Knowing that the parties were your only chance, you worked hard to convince your father that you could attend the 'adult' parties with him. He refused to let you go to any of the parties until you could prove that you were mature enough to handle them, and you didn't get permission to go to a party until you were thirteen.

Despite how long it took, you still remembered your friend and you picked out the prettiest dress you could find. It was going to be the night that you finally saw Seto again, you just knew it.

You hoped that he would remember you. It had been two years since you'd first met him, but surely he couldn't have forgotten you. He did still do business with your dad after all. (Which you knew because you kept trying to crash their meetings.)

It only took you a few moments to spot him. Even at seventeen, he was still one of the tallest men present, and he towered over everyone else in the room.

“Dad! There's Seto! Let's go say hi!”

“Mr. Kaiba,” he reminded you. “Not Seto.” 

“But...”

Your father said your name, and you recognized his warning tone in his voice.

“Ok. Kaiba. I'll remember. Can we go say hi, Dad? Please?”

“If it will make you happy.” 

You followed your dad over to Kaiba, and you could feel a smile stretch across your face. Maybe Seto would ask you to dance! Oh, it would be so much fun! Your first dance at the adult party with Seto! Secretly you’d spent the past week dreaming that he would dance with you. Different situations played through your head each time, but the general idea of dancing with Seto remained. Even though you hadn't seen him up close in years, he'd been on the news and you knew how handsome he'd become. You weren't sure when your feelings toward him shifted, but you knew that he was the most amazing boy in the world.

Two friends who met when they were little, but didn't see each other for two years would finally reconnect at a party and dance together. The idea was so romantic. 

“Mr. Kaiba,” your father greeted while he shook Seto's hand. “This is my daughter.”

“We've met before, Mr. Kaiba,” you delivered the line, just like you'd practiced. Now it was time for him to embrace you like an old friend and tell you to call him Seto. Then he would insist on leading you to the dance floor. 

“How could I forget?” His piercing blue eyes looked you over. Then he turned back to your father. “She looks lovely, sir. Now if you'll excuse me?” 

“Of course.” Your father nodded, and Kaiba took off. 

He'd barely said anything at all to you! What about your dance? You were beginning to feel frantic; this night was not going at all like you'd planned!

“Is that it?” you asked your dad, doing your best to hide your emotions.

He pat the top of your head. “Sweetheart, young Mr. Kaiba and I already do business. The point of these parties isn't to socialize with the people you already know. These parties are simply an excuse to talk to people you want to do business with. That's the lesson I want you to take away from today.” 

It had been the most disappointing lesson that you'd ever learned, but you had learned that lesson. Your father's words always stuck with you. _Parties are an excuse to talk to people you want to do business with._ It meant that Seto Kaiba would only talk to you at a party if he wanted to do business with you. 

Except, he never would. Your father might have brought you to the parties to show you off, but you weren't going to ever take over the company.

You didn't realize that business extended past paperwork and monetary transactions until you were sixteen. That was the year your father asked you how you felt about the son of one of his partners.

\----- 

You recoiled the moment your father suggested that you spend time with Daitaro Aihara. “He's boring. I hate when he comes over for dinner.” It was rude, but your father had always valued honesty.

“That's a shame. It would have been to our advantage for you to marry him. He's quite fond of you.” 

“He'd be fond of anyone with more personality than a stuffed animal,” you muttered before you realized the full meaning of your father's words. “Marry him?!”

“It was just an idea. Business, nothing more. I'd never force you into anything you objected to.” Your father ruffled your hair affectionately. 

As that year went on, many of your friends ended up engaged to men in the business world. As more and more of them told you about their future husbands, you found yourself thankful for having a father who wouldn't force you into something like that. 

Your opinion wasn't always shared.

“But, you know it really would be good for your father's company if you married well. I don't understand why your father hasn't found you a suitable man yet.” Kimiko Aihara was nice enough, but you really didn't like the way she always had to have an opinion about your private life. She was better company than her brother but barely.

“Perhaps he can't find anyone suitable and willing to take her.” 

You glared at the girl who'd said that. Saito had always been a real bitch, but she'd just gotten worse ever since that large diamond had made an appearance on her hand. 

“That's unlikely.” Chiharu was soft spoken, but everyone listened to her. “I hear he's trying to arrange something with Seto Kaiba.”

“Seto Kaiba?!” Suddenly your entire table was whispering.

Kimiko turned to you. “Why didn't you tell me? That would be so amazing! Oh you absolutely must let me be in your wedding!”

“I don't think... I mean...” you stuttered. It was almost too good to be true. Could your father arrange for you to marry Seto Kaiba? 

You pulled your head out of the clouds. There was no way. It was like your father told you many years ago: Men didn't do anything if they weren't going to gain something from it. Especially not men like Kaiba.

Kaiba had nothing to gain from you. He rarely even bothered talking to you.

A girl could dream, but that wouldn't make it happen.

\-----

You finally managed to gain a few bargaining chips when you were almost eighteen. Your father's company developed some new state of the art technology. It was technology that Seto Kaiba was very eager to get his hands on. Combined with his revolutionary designs, your technology could make him a fortune and push Kaiba Corp. decades ahead of the competition.

Except your father was unwilling to exclusively deal with Kaiba Corp. Seto Kaiba simply wasn't offering him enough money. There were a few other companies who were making offers for the product. Recently, your father and Kaiba had gotten into an argument over the issue. Kaiba didn't want his competition to get their hands on the hardware, and your father had told him that exclusivity wasn't on the table. 

You were your father's daughter, and you saw the opportunity before you. Seto Kaiba wanted something, and you could probably convince your father to give it to him. This time you weren't a foolish eleven-year-old, and you were going to get something in exchange. 

So at the next party, you approached Seto Kaiba with business in mind. 

“Mr. Kaiba.” 

He simply nodded. “Is your father here tonight?”

“Yes.” You placed your hand on his arm to keep him from walking off on you. “But you don't want to talk to him.”

“I don't? Enlighten me.”

“I know what you want Mr. Kaiba, and I'm your best bet at getting it.” 

He tried to pull away from you. “Not interested.”

“Oh.” You kept your face schooled into a careful mask. “Then I suppose you don't want my father's new technology? Pity.”

He froze. “You have a minute. Talk.”

“You want my father's new technology, and you want it to only be sold to Kaiba Corp. You and I both know that my father isn't going to go for that... unless I convince him. I could convince him you know.” You smiled at him. The ball was in his court now.

He took a step toward you, and he was suddenly towering over you. “What would it take for you to convince him?” 

This was the part that you had to seriously consider. You knew what you wanted from Seto Kaiba. You wanted him to acknowledge you. You'd been watching him for years, and your crush on him had only magnified. You wanted what any girl wanted from the guy she liked. 

Yet, you weren't an idiot. He wasn't going to date you just for your father's technology. Somehow you were going to have to pique his interest in you. You needed an opportunity to convince him that he wanted to date you.

“This isn't the place for that sort of discussion Mr. Kaiba.” 

He growled and grabbed your arm. “Then why don't we take it somewhere more appropriate?” 

You pulled away. “Not tonight. Meet me tomorrow for lunch and we can talk more then.” You passed him a card with the time and location. “Until tomorrow.” Then you carefully disappeared into the crowd. 

To be honest, you had no clue what you were going to do. You wanted anything and everything you could get from Seto Kaiba. You wanted to mean _something_ to him, as unlikely and ridiculous as the idea seemed. Except that wasn't something you could ask him for. 

You were getting in over your head. You knew that, but you just couldn't stop. Not when you knew that you'd be able to get something from him. Not when you thought that maybe if he got to know you, he might start to care for you too. It wasn't guaranteed, but surely, he might start to feel something for you if just spent some time with you.

Lunch the next day was a tense affair. You were reluctant to proposition him, and he was irritated that you were taking so long after forcing him into leaving his office for lunch.

“Just spit it out already!” he finally snapped.

“I want you to take my virginity!” You almost slapped your hands over your mouth. You really hadn't meant to say that. That was the most idiotic and awkward thing you could have said. He didn't need to know the dreams you had about him being the love of your life and the one you fully gave yourself to.

“Excuse me?” He was clearly shocked. That meant you could still take the upper hand.

You just had to be sneaky about it. Obviously you couldn't tell him that you'd wanted him since you were fifteen and had a crush on him since you were eleven. The truth would give him the advantage. It would let him know that he had power over you. So you would have to lie.

“Well, I'm the only one out of all my friends that hasn't had sex yet.” The best lies came out of the truth, and this was the truth. It just didn't happen to be true that this bothered you.

“And you're choosing me?” 

You couldn't tell him it was because you'd always wanted it to be him. That for years you'd just wished that he would notice you. You couldn't say that. 

“You won't take advantage of me.” Again, true. From his perspective there was probably nothing about you that he would consider worthwhile.

He seemed to be sizing you up for a moment. “Fine.”

“That's not everything!” Seriously, who did he think you were? You were going to get as much as you could out of this. “You need to take me out a few times beforehand. I can't have sex with a complete stranger.” 

“Then pick someone else.”

“It's a fair exchange, Mr. Kaiba. You want something from me; I want something from you. Take it or leave it.” You were stubbornly sticking to this. You'd made your demands far more realistic than what you really wanted.

~~Though you were hoping that maybe somewhere along the line he would start to care for you. You couldn't stop yourself from desperately hoping he would see you as someone with whom he would want to spend time.~~

“How do I even know I can trust you?” 

He had a right to be suspicious, and you were prepared for that. “If you agree to my terms, I'll convince my father to reopen negotiations with you. After... well, after you fulfill your side of the bargain, I'll convince him not to do business with anyone else.” 

“How many times do I have to go out with you?” 

Oh, you hadn't thought of that yet. You almost wanted to say, 'As many dates as it takes for you to want me too,' but you knew better. 

“Two lunch dates, and five dinner dates. This lunch meeting doesn't count.”

He considered your offer. “I get to choose when and where the dates occur.”

You expected that. He needed to feel like he had as much control as possible in all his business deals. This shouldn't be any different. “That's fine as long as you don't half-ass it.” 

“It's a deal then.” 

You both shook on it.

\-----

Your dates sent the press into a field day. Seto Kaiba out with the daughter of one of his business associates? It was a juicy story and people wanted details. Kaiba simply responded with his traditional, 'No comment.' You were always very cordial to the press, so you gave them more to work with than that. When the press liked you, the chances that they would say nice things about you increased. It was another lesson learned from your father.

“We're not seeing each other. They're simply friendly dinners.” You smiled for all the cameras and did your best to politely answer their questions without actually telling them anything.

You eventually brought up the press at your third dinner with him.

“You know, I noticed that the public seems to like you a lot more now.” You were holding up a magazine that proclaimed he wasn't a jackass like everyone believed. “Kaiba Corporation's public image seems to have improved as well.” 

“Fuck the public.” 

His angry response caught you by surprise. This wasn't how you expected him to react. He should, by all rights, be thinking about how this worked to his advantage. You only brought it up because you wanted him to see the benefits of dating you. Good PR was always hard to come by and important to have.

“I'm sure your publicist loves that attitude.”

“Fuck him too.”

“You know, he sent me flowers with a thank-you card the other day.” You raised an eyebrow at Kaiba. Hopefully the challenge would pull him out of whatever foul mood he'd gotten into. “He thinks that being seen with me is improving your reputation.” 

There was a moment of silence, and you almost though that Kaiba wouldn't take the bait. “I don't give a shit about my reputation.”

This wouldn't do at all. It was unsettling that he didn't realize just how important public relations were. You let the subject drop and changed the topic to Kaiba Corp's newest technology. It wasn't a subject that you had any specific interest in, but you really enjoyed listening to him talk about all his new inventions. Listening to Kaiba talk about the development of all his products reminded you of his sheer brilliance. When he explained the logic that went behind some of his creations, you were barely able to keep up with him, but you could tell that he was a creative genius. 

Though, on occasion, he did have to explain some of his more complicated theories to you since you were still in high school and simply hadn't reached a high enough level to understand everything he said. He was surprisingly good at explaining the things you didn't know. You would think that someone as intelligent as he was wouldn't be able to simplify things, but he was so thorough in his explanations that you were actually learning a great deal from him.

Tonight you couldn't get into the discussion. He was being a bit vague, and your mind was occupied. 

You thought that he would have seen the benefit in having you around. You were absolutely adored by the public, and his reputation needed a lot of work. Kaiba Corp. may have established itself as the company with the best and most advanced products, but people thought that the CEO was a complete asshole. Other companies were able to compete with him just because people were more willing to buy products from them, not because their products were better in any way. 

You would just have to change tactics. 

Next time the press asked you about your relationship with Kaiba, you decided to change up your response a little. “I'm sure that any woman would be lucky to date a man like Mr. Kaiba. I'm not fortunate enough to be that woman.” Rather than give the cameras your perfectly constructed smile, you let your true emotions on the matter show. You smiled, thinking of how you only had two more dates left to change his mind. A dinner and a lunch.

The public reacted just like you expected. Suddenly everyone was up in arms, indignant that Seto Kaiba was leading you on that way. His publicist even sent you an email that sarcastically thanked you for screwing him over. You felt bad for suddenly turning everyone on him like this, but you wanted him to see how much the public mattered. His father had built weaponry for the militia. In that field, the public meant nothing, so he probably never taught Kaiba how to deal with them appropriately.

It might have backfired. Kaiba didn't call you again for two weeks. Since you couldn't call him without appearing desperate, you frantically began preparing for a party where you knew he would be present. 

You had to fix the mess that you made.

\----- 

You noticed him the moment he arrived at the party, but you didn't approach him right away. You took your time, conversing with various people as you wandered towards him. When you finally reached him, he was conversing with Mr. Aihara, An older businessman with whom you were actually somewhat familiar.

“There you are! I've been asking Mr. Kaiba here where you've been this entire time!” he greeted you jovially. “My daughter tells me that you and Mr. Kaiba have become quite close lately!” 

Even though it was untrue, the news still could have told him that. You were sure that his daughter had put her own spin on the story. Probably pretending that you confided in her or something. As if you would ever tell that snoop anything. Not that you could just call his daughter a liar. “How is your daughter doing Mr. Aihara? I haven't been able to find her all night.” Of course you hadn't looked for her.

“Oh she's here somewhere!” He looked around and seemed to be confused when he couldn't instantly locate her. “Let me go find her. I don't think she's been properly introduced to Mr. Kaiba!” He ran off, and you sighed in relief before turning to Kaiba.

“So are you backing out of our deal?” 

He glared at you, probably not happy that you got rid of Aihara. “It hasn't seemed pertinent for me to be seen with you.”

He was such a hypocrite. Apparently the public only mattered when it worked in his favor. “Did your publicist tell you that?”

“No,” he muttered. “My publicist told me to make a romantic gesture toward you.” 

“Then maybe you should dance with me.” You grinned. Maybe you'd get that dance you'd always dreamed of after all. 

“No. I don't know what game you're playing, but I refuse to be toyed with.”

You couldn't say that you weren't surprised that he'd caught on to you. To anyone who knew about your feelings for Kaiba, your actions in front of the media were fairly transparent. “I just wanted to show you that the public really does matter.” 

“Get over yourself.” He started to storm off, but you caught his arm.

“If you dance with me, the rest of this song and the entirety of the next, I'll count it as our second 'lunch' date.”

It was a bargain. Five minutes of dancing with you instead of an hour sitting with you? You knew that he would take that deal, and take it he did. He led you over to the floor and soon the two of you were dancing among the couples. 

He'd never danced in public before, and you didn't understand why. He was graceful and confident. You expected him to know how to dance, but you never expected him to be anywhere near this good at it. It was a shame he didn't dance more often.

“I promise I'll say nice things about you when the press asks about this tomorrow,” you teased. 

He ignored you and looked over your shoulder at nothing in particular.

“You know, if you look at me, it'll create a better photo for tomorrow's paper. Looking away like I'm boring you will just make people hate you more.” 

“They'll get over it.” 

You couldn't imagine why he was being so stubborn about the issue. You were handing him good publicity on a SILVER PLATTER and he wouldn't take it because he didn't want to look at you. Could he really find you that ugly? Did you bore him that much during your dates? Was there just something wrong with you? 

“Am I really that repulsive?” Your question was loaded with all the insecurity he'd ever made you feel. You almost stumbled as you missed the next step of the dance. You hadn't meant to ask him that. It had come out entirely on accident. You began to panic as you waited for him to say something. He wasn't responding. He wasn't looking at you. He was completely ignoring your question. 

Then all of the rejection that he'd ever made you feel pushed its way into the forefront of your mind, and you abruptly stopped dancing. He was looking at you now, but you didn't notice. All the experiences that you'd had with him ever since you were eleven were flashing through your head. All those parties where he simply greeted you and moved on. All those times he ignored you as he walked into your father's office.

He was brilliant. He'd become the CEO of a major company as a teenager, and he'd turned it into an empire. He created product after product and revolutionized every single industry he tried his hand at. Your father even complimented his business skills.

And you were just a girl that he couldn't even bear to look at.

All the training that you had during your childhood demanded that you stay in that room. You heard your father's voice in your head telling you not to cause a scene. You knew that you should be able to stop yourself from crying. You should keep dancing with him like nothing was bothering you. Then you should continue to socialize, smiling prettily like you were enjoying yourself.

You tried to get back into the dance, tried to move your feet to the music, and you missed another step, stumbling as your eyes began to overflow with tears. You were so useless that even your training couldn't stop you from acting like a complete idiot! “I'm so sorry,” you choked out even though you weren't sure if you were talking to Kaiba anymore.

You couldn't hold back the tears anymore. You tore yourself away from Kaiba and ran.

Perhaps your father should have taught you one more life lesson. Never deal with the devil, because in the end, you always lose your soul.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so I have this thing where I really super hate when the reader in a reader insert is given a name. I'm good at avoiding names AND name blanks, so I generally don't give my reader characters a name or description. 
> 
> Well, your first name and appearance are still up to you, but your last name is Nomiya. Since your brother and father are pretty important, I figured a last name was needed. Plus I wanted to have the news article and that would be impossible without either blanks or a given last name. I opted for the given last name. It'll rarely come up though, I promise. 
> 
> I hope you guys like Katsu!

KAIBA CORP. CEO BREAKS YOUNG SOCIALITE'S HEART

_For the past month, both Mr. Kaiba and Miss. Nomiya have been spotted together in public. From lunches near Kaiba Corp. to dinners at the most expensive restaurants, these two have caused quite a stir. Everyone has been wondering how close the two are and just how they became that close._

_Last night, it seemed like we might finally get an answer to that question. The two were spotted conversing at a party held in honor of Mr. Fuwa. When Mr. Kaiba was seen on the dance floor, for the first time and with Miss. Nomiya, it seemed like a confirmation that Japan's Most Eligible was dating Japan's Sweetheart._

_However, it seems that their romance was destined to be a short affair. Miss. Nomiya pulled away from Mr. Kaiba and tearfully ran out of the ballroom. The pain on her face was all too transparent, and anyone could see that Mr. Kaiba had, once again, shown his true colors._

_Now the world wants to know: What did Mr. Kaiba say to Japan's Sweetheart and how could any man even entertain the notion of breaking her heart?_

_Mr. Kaiba refused to comment, and our darling has yet to show herself in public._

You put the article back down on your father's desk, opting to stare at his hands rather than look him in the face. You really didn't want to have to explain this to him. In fact, you never ever wanted to think about last night ever again. The realization that there might never be anything that could make you appealing to Seto Kaiba was far too horrible. 

Japan's Sweetheart indeed! You couldn't even get a man to dance with you without having to bribe him. 

Your father eventually became unnerved by your silence. “I've ignored whatever has been going on between you and young Kaiba for far too long. Explain.”

You knew he wasn't going to let you leave until he had an explanation, but you also knew that your father was a patient man. He would wait for you to speak. So you took your time trying to gather all your thoughts. You practiced your meditative breathing as you considered just how much you had to tell him and how much you couldn't tell him. 

“I made a deal with Mr. Kaiba. I said I'd appeal to you on his behalf if he spent time with me.” You paused and closed your eyes. You couldn't even look at your father's hands anymore. “I just wanted a chance to show him... to show him I could be useful.”

“Look at me.” Your father sighed when you refused to heed his command. “I won't say it again.” So you finally opened your eyes and looked at him. He wasn't as angry as you thought he would be. Instead he looked disappointed. 

“I should have put an end to your fixation with Seto Kaiba years ago. You have a charity event coming up right? Focus on that and forget about Kaiba. Be happy, talk to as many people as you can, spend some time with other young men.”

You nodded. Your father had never understood your fascination with Kaiba. To him, Seto Kaiba was simply a business associate. An intelligent business associate, but intelligence didn't make him less of a headache to deal with. He'd never directly said anything negative about your feelings for Kaiba, but he'd thrown out plenty of hints that Kaiba would never be yours. 

Your brother on the other hand, well, you were just glad that he wasn't here. He hated Seto Kaiba. He had been the first one to explain to you that Kaiba had simply befriended you when you were little so that he could get to your father. Your brother had joyfully told you exactly how you'd been used, and then his hatred of Seto Kaiba grew when he realized that you didn't care. 

You admired Seto far too much for that. You'd heard that he'd actually managed to take over Kaiba Corp. through intelligence and force. Just the fact that he'd managed to do that was enough to impress you. Every year that Kaiba Corp. thrived with Seto as the CEO simply increased your respect and adoration. So young, yet so very motivated and creative. He was beyond perfect. If he had become friends with you so that he could find a way to convince your father to do business with him, well, that just proved how nothing could stop him from achieving his goals. 

“Are you listening to me?” your father demanded. 

“Yes father.” 

“Good. Now go work on that fund-raiser. Don't mess this up by involving Kaiba!”

It wasn't like Seto Kaiba would even show up at the event anyway. He was far too busy to do anything more than donate to charities. Your fixation with him might have been a little extreme, but you still realized that you weren't getting anywhere with him. 

But you would have to call him soon to let him know that your deal with him was off… 

You said a brief goodbye to your father and made your way out of his office. Hopefully your brother wouldn't corner you as you tried to leave the building.

Luck wasn't on your side, and your brother practically ambushed you outside your father's office. 

“Shouhei!” You wondered if it wasn't too late to dash back into your father's office. “Shouldn't you be working?” 

Your brother ignored your question. “What did father have to say?”

“He told me to be sure to pull off the fund-raiser without a hitch.” You knew your brother was fishing for comments about Kaiba. You wouldn't give him the satisfaction of bringing it up. “Which reminds me, you never did tell me if you would run laps in the jog-a-thon or not. We need someone to represent our company.”

“I'm busy with work, and you'll already be the representative.” 

Well, that wasn't unexpected. Your brother might be the heir to the company, and he was certainly the one with the business sense, but somehow you were constantly the company's representative at public events. “Fine. Don't come crying to me when you get fat and women stop throwing themselves at you,” you teased. “Anyway, I have work to do. Will I see you at dinner?” 

“Wait a second.” Shouhei grabbed your wrist. He knew that you often gave him a lame excuse and ran off when you didn't want to talk about something. If he was preventing you from running it meant he was probably going to bring up Kaiba. “Didn't father have anything to say about the news?” 

“You're too nosy, Shou.” You frowned, letting him know that you did not approve of his question.

“I'm serious.” As if he was ever not serious. 

“No more Seto Kaiba for me, BUT don't start planning a party yet. He's still a business associate. You KNOW father never mixes his business and private lives.”

“A practice I think you could learn from.” 

You pulled away from your brother. “Well, if you were listening in with your ear to the door, why ask me to recap the conversation?” You pushed past him and straight to the elevators.

Your brother followed you and stopped the elevator doors from closing. “Look, just listen to dad for once and stop chasing Kaiba. He's not good enough for you.” 

“Whatever, just let the doors close please.” You loved your brother, but Seto Kaiba was a topic you would always fight with him over. Shou was constantly trying to convince you to go after anyone else, and you were constantly trying to make Shou see that Kaiba was worthy of his respect. Your brother claimed that your obsession with Kaiba would ruin you. You did appreciate his brotherly concern, but to be perfectly honest, you were sure that a bit of your brother's dislike came from the fact that Kaiba was already established in the business world. Your brother was still establishing himself within your father's company while a boy two years his junior was running his own (highly successful) company. The name Seto Kaiba demanded complete respect from everyone while the name Shouhei Nomiya prompted respectful curiosity. 

As the elevator took you down to the bottom floor, you dug around in your bag for your cell. You'd switched it into vibrate before going into your father's office, and you'd felt your purse vibrating about midway through the conversation. You found your phone at the bottom of your purse and unlocked it. Two missed calls, three new texts, and a new email. The two calls were from Seto Kaiba so you figured that you should put them off until you'd left the building. Next, you checked your email. It turned out to be about the jog-a-thon that was coming up. The water company that you'd been talking to had finally committed to donating a few hundred bottles of water to the event. You quickly composed a 'thank-you' email with details about when and where they could drop off their donation. By the time you were done with the email, you'd already reached your car, and the texts could wait until you weren't driving. 

You dropped your phone into its place next to your seat and turned your car on. After activating the Bluetooth connection, you waited until your car had connected to your phone before saying, “Call Seto Kaiba,” with careful enunciation. The phone began ringing so you put your car in reverse and pulled out of your parking spot. Today you had to survey the track where the jog-a-thon would be located. 

“That stunt you pulled last night is all over the news.” 

Perhaps calling Kaiba while you were driving wasn't the smartest idea. He was absolutely livid. “Yes, well it wasn't intentional I assure you.”

“Are you sure? It's starting to look like this little 'deal' of yours was simply a way to make me look bad in the press.” 

He was such a hypocrite. Not giving a damn about the press one moment and angry that you'd made him look bad the other. It was so obvious that his father hadn't ever taught him how to handle them. That wasn't why you'd called him though. “About the deal. I can't do it anymore. I'm calling it off.”

“I don't think so.”

“It doesn't matter what you think Mr. Kaiba. My father has made it clear that he won't be exclusively dealing with you anymore, but he is willing to sell our new technology to you. I think that's a fair compromise.”

“You know what I think? I think that this has all been an elaborate ploy to make me look bad in the media.”

You were a bit surprised that he would think that, but in retrospect, you could see where he was coming from. You had sabotaged him in the media shortly before the previous night, but that act of sabotage had been to prove a point, and you'd thought that you would have been able to make up for it later. The party and its negative press storm had been completely unintentional and not at all planned. You couldn't just let him think that you would try to bring him down. You had to correct him. There was nothing that would make you ever want to destroy him.

“What motivation would I have to make you look bad?” you asked, appealing to his own type of logic.

“Revenge.” 

“You've never done anything to me that would make me want revenge.” It was true. You were fairly sure that he was talking about how he'd used you when you were eleven, but you never bore him any ill will over that. You were completely honest when you'd told your brother that you understood why Kaiba had done that. He'd needed to meet your father and going through you had been the easiest way. It was a smart idea, and you couldn't fault him for that.

Besides, you'd met him and spent the entire day playing with him because of that. You wouldn't give up that day for anything.

He was silent on the other end, so you decided to suggest a peace offering. “Look, you've probably heard about the charity event I have coming up. You're probably too busy to attend but if you send a representative from Kaiba Corp, someone that people will recognize, I'll make sure the press notices. You'll have to make a sizable donation too, to explain why they're there, but it'll be good press and it'll repair some of the damage.”

“I'll send my brother.”

He hung up on you, but you barely even noticed. You were too busy wondering how you'd never realized that he had a brother. It wasn't like you stalked Kaiba or googled everything about him, but surely you would have met his brother at some point. How had you missed such a major piece of information?

You wondered who it would be easier to fish information out of: your father or your brother. It would be easier to get the information from your brother without being questioned since he didn’t like talking about Kaiba. Your father was far too sharp for that; he would want to know why you wanted information about Seto Kaiba's brother. Except your father probably knew more about the Kaibas than Shou. Of course, you had a while before you actually had to decide where to get your information.

First you had to check out the track and ensure it was usable. You'd managed to get permission to use the track at the local high school, and you needed to check in with the principal. You'd already checked out the track once, and it had holes that needed to be filled. You’d paid to have those holes taken care of, and you needed to make sure that they were gone. Additionally, the fund-raiser was Saturday morning, and you had to know what time you could start preparations on Friday afternoon.

The first thing you noticed when you pulled into the parking lot was an ostentatious car. It was parked alone, as if it intimidated everyone away. The car made you curious so you parked next to it, not really caring that it looked like it might be more expensive than your cute little Porsche. You stared at the car and wondered how anyone in this public school could possibly afford such a pricey vehicle. 

Your phone beeped, reminding you that you still had some messages. You grabbed it and brought up your texts. There was one from Aihara that read: _what happened last night? you have 2 tell me!_ You knew you should probably respond to her, but you simply ignored her. It was none of her business. 

The next text was from Kaneko; the sweet girl was actually making sure that you were alright. She was concerned because you weren't at school today. So you sent her a text letting her know that she'd see you back at school tomorrow. 

Then there was a text from your best friend Katsu. _Do we need to have an ice cream party?_ Even though you probably didn't need one, it would be nice to sit around and bash Kaiba with Katsu. Actually, Katsu might know something about the younger Kaiba. So you sent him a reply asking when he could meet up with you later tonight. 

Then you grabbed your keys and your phone and stepped out of the car. It was almost time for your meeting with the school's principal. You let yourself into the school building, and yet again, you were amazed at how unguarded it was. The private school that you attended had guards posted at every door. Nobody could get into the school without checking in first. Here, the hallways were practically empty while everyone sat in classrooms learning. Here it didn't matter who you were, you could be anyone, and it wouldn't affect how easy it was to get into the school. 

You nodded at the people working in the school's office as you made your way straight for the principal's office. The door was shut so you knocked twice and waited for the invitation to enter. Once you'd let yourself in, the principal stood to formally greet you. He pulled out a chair, but you declined. 

“Would it be alright if we just checked out the track now?”

“Yes of course!” You followed behind the man as he led the way to the track. “We've had a large amount of students volunteer to participate in the event.” 

“That's good.” More people participating meant that it would be more successful. Even if you hadn't actually counted on too many students being interested. “You have a list of course?” 

“Yes of course! Last Friday was the last day to volunteer so that I could put together a list. It's in my office. I'll give it to you before you leave.” Then he began to talk about what an amazing opportunity this was for the school and how nice it was that so many students were willing to take part. You paid just enough attention to respond at the appropriate moments. 

When you finally left the school, there was a boy leaning against the car next to yours. He was dressed in the school uniform so it was clear that he was a student. Classes were still going which meant that he was probably skipping. At a school with almost no security, it would be pretty easy to skip, but you were surprised that he would choose to stand against that specific car. 

The boy, though he was probably around your age, looked like a delinquent. His tie was untied and simply hanging around his neck, and the top buttons of his shirt were undone. His black hair was far too long to be seemly but at least it was pulled back in a low ponytail. He openly watched you approach him, exuding a casual indifference that vaguely reminded you of something you couldn't quite place.

“I don't think the owner would appreciate that,” you called to the boy as you unlocked your car.

The boy gave you a lopsided grin. “Well, as the owner, I'm perfectly fine with me leaning against my own car.” He eyed you as you opened your car door. “I wanted to see who was parked next to me.”

“Well you've seen me. Shouldn't you get to class?”

“Shouldn't you?”

His question caught you off guard. Why would he think you had classes to go to? When you were dressed professionally like today, people almost never realized that you were only seventeen. “No. I don't go to school here.”

“I know.” He was smiling like he knew something you didn't. “You go to that private academy across town.”

“How did you know that?” you demanded. It was never good when people knew more about you than they should. You were relieved to note that if he tried anything, there was still an entire car between the two of you.

“You do read the news right? You've been all over the papers lately.” He shrugged as if knowing where you went to school was no big deal. While he was right—it was fairly common knowledge—he wouldn't have gotten it from any of the recent news. 

“Well you know who I am. Who are you Mr. Silver Car?” 

“It's a Lamborghini!” Your lack of car appreciation apparently offended him. 

“That doesn't stop it from being a silver car, and it doesn't answer who you are.” You didn’t know much about cars—you picked your own out because it was cute—but you were sure that Lamborghinis ran on the expensive side. If it really was this kid's car, then you wanted to know who he was.

“I'll tell you who I am if you agree to go get coffee with me.”

Well, it couldn't hurt. It wasn't like you were going to be getting into his car or letting him into your own. Coffee was pretty inoffensive too. If anyone decided to take a photo of the two of you, it could easily look like some sort of meeting. “Sure, why not?”

“Follow me then.” He opened the silver car, confirming that it really was his, and got into the driver's seat.

“Hey! You still haven't told me who you are!” The slam of his door closing was the only response you received. You got into your own car, wondering just how curious you were about this guy. You could be a complete jerk and just let him drive off. His car reversed out of the spot, and despite your thoughts, you found yourself compulsively following him. It was like reading a suspenseful book; you couldn't stop reading until you reached the conclusion. 

Based on his car, you figured that his parents were probably well-off. Since he was about your age and you didn't know him, then his parents probably didn't run in the same social circles that you did. They could be doctors, lawyers, or engineers; they would be something that made a great deal of money without necessarily being part of the business world. In that case, you had a few different ideas on where he would take you. 

When he took a turn downtown, you were fairly surprised. There were lots of places to get coffee downtown, but none of them were places that you would expect this guy to go to. He drove down different streets, taking random turns and leading you into the less populated areas before abruptly parking on the street in front of a little cafe. You admired how easily he parallel parked before cursing. Now you had to find your own place to park. The area wasn't too busy, but it was all only street parking. You found a spot right around the corner and not too far from the little cafe that Mr. Silver Car had parked in front of. 

You were still dressed for your earlier meeting and that included the small kitten heels on your feet. You did have a spare pair of flats that you kept in your car, and you considered changing into them. That consideration was quickly discarded. If you were photographed, you wanted to look like you were dressed for business and not for a date of some sort. This was a nice quiet area, probably press free, but there was never a guarantee of that. 

You checked your surroundings before stepping out of the car and making your way around the corner and down the street toward the cafe. Your phone beeped, and you quickly brought up your new text. It was Katsu. “My place after school?”

You looked up at the street signs and quickly texted the names back to Katsu, letting him know where you were and asking him to join you. Katsu would be getting out of classes soon, if he wasn't already ditching, and the stranger hadn't said anything about having coffee alone with him.

When you entered the cafe, you noticed Mr. Silver Car sitting at a small booth in the back. You went straight for the counter, intent on ordering a drink, but he beckoned for you to just come over to the table.

“I already ordered for you,” he said once you were close enough.

“How did you know what I wanted?” You hoped that he didn't actually know and had just ordered you something like a presumptuous jerk. If he knew what you tended to drink then you were going to have to start wondering if he was some sort of stalker. Creepy stalkers were not fun.

“My brother told me what you drink.” 

“Is your brother a stalker?” 

The kid laughed and you warily looked around to make sure that there were plenty of other people in the room. You had an escape route planned just in case he ended up being completely messed up in the head. 

“You really don't know who I am, do you?” 

You just glared at him. “If I knew who you were, I wouldn't have asked.”

“Huh.” He seemed genuinely surprised by that and you started to wonder if you should know him. He winked at you. “I'm Mokuba Kaiba. You can swoon now.” 

“No way.” He had to be messing with your head. 

He didn't seem at all bothered by your disbelief. He just dug his ID out of his wallet and showed it to you. It looked real enough, but that still didn't mean anything. You gave it back to him.

“So if you're a Kaiba, why haven't I met you before and why are you going to a public school?” 

“I'm not part of Kaiba Corp. I don't have a talent for business like Seto does.” A waitress brought over your drinks, and he murmured a quick 'thanks' to her. “And I'm sure you know that Seto went to Domino High too. There's nothing wrong with public school.”

That was true. Kaiba had attended Domino. If you'd been a little bit older, you would have tried to get your father to let you go to school there too. Except by the time you started high school, Kaiba had graduated, so it would have been a waste of time. You were still skeptical of the guy's story. You'd never met Mokuba Kaiba, until today you hadn't even known that there was a Mokuba Kaiba.

Your skepticism must have been written all over your face. “Look, if you don't believe me then google my name. I'm sure you've got a phone that does that.”

That was actually a fairly good idea. You never really googled people before because you knew firsthand how much the internet could get wrong, but it would at least confirm his identity. You pulled up the browser on your phone and typed in 'Mokuba Kaiba'. The first hit was a wikipedia page so you clicked on it. 

“Mokuba Kaiba is the younger brother of Kaiba Corporation’s CEO, Seto Kaiba.” You looked at the picture on the page and then back to the man sitting across from you.

“Well shit.” What were you supposed to say now? The younger brother of the man you had a hopeless crush on was sitting right across from you. Apparently you weren't as obsessed as everyone claimed since you hadn't even known about him. It was probably because you'd never done any specific research on Kaiba before. You'd always assumed that your father knew more than any website could ever tell you. Either you were wrong or father was holding back on you.

“Don't worry. I always have this effect on women.” 

You stared blankly at the boy across from you. “I—um… what?” 

“Speechlessness.” He sipped his drink looking quite smug. 

“How have I never seen you before?” 

“I'm boring. I don't go to expensive places, I don't date famous women, and I'm not part of the corporate world. I may be a Kaiba, but I'm not the one that makes headlines.” He leaned toward you and lowered his voice. “But I am amazing in bed.” He winked.

Talk about a twilight zone experience. This was getting way too bizarre. “I'm sure you are.” What else was there to say really? 

He casually reclined in his seat. “My brother's said a little bit about you. I was intrigued and wanted to meet you myself, though it was sheer luck that I ran into you today.” He seemed to be studying you, and his stare reminded you of his brother's. It seemed like being able to see right through people was a Kaiba trait. “You're not what I expected.”

You wanted to ask him what his brother had said about you, but that would have been too transparent. So you asked him what he'd expected you to be like. It would hopefully hint at the sort of things Kaiba said about you.

Mokuba opened his mouth but was interrupted by someone obnoxiously calling your name. You knew that voice too. You turned, and sure enough, Katsu was standing in the doorway wiggling his fingers at you.

Fingers with bright, neon nail polish on their nails. Your eyes narrowed as he skipped across the room to you. “Nice nail polish. It looks familiar. In fact, I think I had that color until it _went missing_.” 

“Oh get over it, kitten. It looks better on me anyway.” He shoved you over and slid into the booth next to you. He was clearly checking out your companion. “You look familiar. Have we met?” 

“Not to my knowledge. I'm Mokuba Kaiba.”

“No fucking way!” Katsu was looking at you now. “You're dating the other Kaiba now?” 

“Don't make me sound like a slut.”

He simply blinked. “You wish you were a slut.”

Your face met the table. “I regret telling you that,” you muttered.

Katsu ignored you and turned back to the other man. “So, Mokuba, are you an asshole too?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“You know, like your brother. Kitten here likes assholes.”

“I do NOT!” you protested. 

Mokuba was more amused than offended. That was new. Katsu offended nearly everyone. “Why don't you get to know me and decide for yourself?” 

“I approve.” Katsu's attention was back on you. “You should chase after this one. He seems much cooler.” 

“I'm not chasing after anyone.” 

“So you've finally given up on Kaiba?”

You gave Katsu your best 'not now' glare and glanced over at Mokuba. It was an attempt to signify that you didn't want to talk about this in front of Kaiba's brother. It was bad enough that everyone close to you knew how crazy you were for Kaiba. You didn't need it going public. 

“So you ARE interested in my brother!” Mokuba looked pleased with himself. He was probably thinking about how useful this information would be.

“I am not! I simply admire him.” 

“You've been admiring him for the past six years.” Katsu was bound and determined to embarrass you. You were really going to have to get back at him later. For now you settled on kicking him. 

“I think it's time to leave now.” You started shoving Katsu out of the booth. 

“What I just got here? I'm not leaving!”

“Oh shut up for once.” You shoved him as hard as you could. It didn’t do much, but he got your point.

He got out of the booth, giving you a dirty look. “I hope you're at least feeding me dinner.”

“Sure, you can follow me home.” 

“What about me?” Mokuba nearly whined. “I haven't really had a chance to talk to you.”

“Yeah don't be rude, kitten.” 

You glared at Katsu. “I think you're done talking now.” 

“NEVER!” he interrupted.

You rolled your eyes and turned to Mokuba. “I'll see you on Saturday.” 

“Are you asking me out?” Mokuba had a roguish grin on his face, and you were amazed at how different he was from his brother. “I accept.”

“WOO! You snagged a hottie!” Katsu held up his hand for a high five, and you just left him hanging. He'd get over it.

“No. The jog-a-thon is Saturday morning, which you should know Katsu since you promised to attend, and Mokuba, your brother told me that you'd be attending as the face of Kaiba Corp. It’s Saturday at your school's track; be there at 6am.”

“What?!” 

You shrugged. “Talk to your brother. I've emailed him the details.” 

“Don't be so cold, kitten! Give the attractive boy your number!” When you just glared at him, Katsu shrugged. “You're so hopeless. Mokuba, I can call you Mokuba right? I'll give you my number. Text me yours, and I'll text you hers.” 

“When did you start meddling in my life?” You tried to drag Katsu out of the café, but he easily ignored you as he exchanged numbers with Mokuba. 

“You need to get out more. You'll thank me later. Actually, you should invite Mokuba over for dinner!”

“Are you crazy or sick?” You held your hand up to his forehead. “You know that Shou would hate it if I invited a Kaiba over.” 

“I'm right here.”

Katsu ignored Mokuba. “What are the chances that he'll even be home? I bet nobody shows up for dinner except the two of us.”

“You can make that bet all you want. If Shou shows up, he'll throw a fit, and you know it.”

Katsu sighed. “Fine, fine. I guess we'll have to hang out with you later Mokuba!”

He waved as you dragged him out of the cafe. It was so irritating how he'd offend people and then make friends with them. Well, it was mostly irritating because you wished you could pull that off. You often wished that you could be as outgoing as Katsu. 

Outside the café, you shoved him into a wall. “What's wrong with you?”

He pulled you into a hug. “Let's talk about it at your house.” 

“Fine. I'll meet you there.” You pulled away, and the two of you separated and went to your own cars. 

Katsu had managed to get to your house before you, and you found him in the kitchen harassing the maids.

“It'll be just us for dinner. I told you so!”

“You're such a jerk. Don't you know how to keep your mouth shut?”

Katsu turned to a maid and asked for two spoons before pulling two containers of ice cream out of the freezer. “C'mon.” You followed him over to the counter where he set out the ice cream. “I saw the news.”

“Everyone has seen the news,” you interrupted. 

You told Katsu the events of the previous night, explaining why you'd suddenly started crying. Just thinking about all those feelings of rejection made your eyes start to water again. You shoveled a bunch of ice cream into your mouth in an effort to stave off the tears. 

“You're way too good for Seto Kaiba!” Katsu waved his spoon at you. “You're sexy and sweet, and he's just a jerk with a stick permanently shoved up his ass.” 

“You know that's not true,” you mumbled as you stared into your container of ice cream. 

Katsu lightly whacked you with his spoon. “None of that! Did you see the looks Mokuba Kaiba kept shooting at you? Even he can see how attractive you are!” 

“He sounded like a shameless flirt.” 

“Huh. That would be interesting. Well, I think you should give him a chance. I've heard about him, he's supposed to be way nicer than his brother.”

Seriously? Even your best friend had heard of Mokuba before. “How am I the only one who hasn't heard of Mokuba before?”

“You just don't pay enough attention. Sometimes you live under a rock, really. Try to pay attention on Saturday. I think you might have an interesting time with Mokuba.”

“Is that why you couldn't keep your mouth shut earlier?” You hit him with your spoon. “I really didn't appreciate that by the way. Mokuba Kaiba does not need to know how I feel about his brother.”

“Fine, I won't tell him anything, but seriously, maybe Mokuba Kaiba can finally rid you of your fascination with Seto Kaiba. He's definitely attractive.” Katsu chewed on his spoon thoughtfully. “You know, I didn't get to see if he was as tall as his brother.”

“We'll if you actually bother to show up on Saturday you'll see how tall he is then.”

“It's a deal!”


	3. Chapter 3

When you were younger, you used to hate early mornings. It used to be difficult for you to actually get up for school every single day. That was before you realized that you would always have to deal with mornings. If you weren't getting up early for school, then you were getting up for a meeting or a morning event. Unavoidable events happened in the morning, and you would just have to live with it.

That didn't mean that you would have to deal with mornings unassisted. The maids all had your schedule, and they were instructed to leave a mug of coffee in your room when you woke up in the morning. Being able to sip at the coffee as you got ready for the day ahead made it a bit easier to deal with the early hour.

Today was the day of your charity event, a jog-a-thon to raise money for the local public schools. The sort of people who'd signed up varied. You had a few celebrities and a few business leaders as well as students and parents from the schools involved. The high school track had been repaved, and it was ready for the event. Things had come together, but you still had to get there early to make sure everything was in place and set up.

You were probably going to be in the sun all day, and even though you weren't running, you would still probably end up getting a lot of exercise as you made sure there weren't any problems. You decided against bothering with a shower until you got home after the event. For the event itself, you knew that you would need to be comfortable but still put-together. There would be photographers there ready to take pictures of you, and you needed to walk the line between respectable and able to stay on your feet all day.

Keeping all this in mind, you prepared for the day before heading down to the kitchen for breakfast. As you ate, you called Katsu. His phone rang a few times before going to voicemail. You waited for the beep before leaving your message. “I'm coming to pick you up. I'll kick you out of bed if I have to.” Just for good measure, you sent him a text as well. Then he couldn't bitch that you hadn't warned him.

You finished your breakfast, grabbed your bag, and took off for Katsu's. You'd warned him earlier in the week that you were going to stop by to wake him up and bring him to the event. He'd sleep in until noon if you didn't drag him out of bed, and he had promised to help you out.

The security guards at his home were familiar with both you and your car, and they opened the gate of the estate the moment you pulled up. You waved at them as you passed by and drove straight up the driveway to the front door. You were only staying for as long as it took to get Katsu ready so you parked right by the front door.

The maid who answered the front door informed you that the 'young master' was still asleep.

“I figured he would be.” You walked past her and into the mansion. “I'll just show myself up to his room.”

She protested, but you waved her off. You were more than capable of handling a sleepy Katsu. You'd been to his place often despite the fact that his parents hated you. They were old money while you were new money, and they thought that their son could find better friends, but they only remembered that you existed when you were right in front of their faces. They were never home so that almost never happened, and you came and went as you pleased, sometimes even spending the night over here.

Since he was asleep, you didn't bother knocking and simply walked into his room. He was curled up and buried underneath layers of blankets. You yanked them off his bed and poked him in the side.

“Wake up!”

“Why are you such a bitch?” He curled up with his back facing you and pulled a pillow over his head.

“Because you can't get yourself out of bed. C'mon, you promised you'd help me out today.”

“I hate you.” He rolled over to face you and blearily looked you over. “If that's what you're wearing today, you need all the help you can get.”

“Oh just get out of bed!”

“Fuck me,” he whined as he rolled out of bed and staggered over to his closet. “Do I have time to shower?”

“No.”

“Tyrant.” He disappeared into his closet and emerged after five minutes wearing clothes that looked far too nice for the event.

“You know you'll probably get dirty.”

He looked down at his tan pants and then disappeared back into the closet. Ten minutes later, he emerged and his clothes were still far too nice, but at least they were all in dark colors. He was still tired but that didn't stop him from catching your skepticism.

“I said I would help. I didn't say I was actually going to do anything.”

“Ordering people around isn't helpful.”

“Just you watch.” You rolled your eyes and started to leave. He followed behind you. “Hey, do we have time to stop for smoothies?”

“No.”

"But we'll stop anyway.”

He was certain of that, and you sighed, knowing that he was right. You might have been running later than you'd hoped, but that wouldn't stop you from detouring for smoothies. “Only because you'll be a bitch to deal with if we don't.” It was true, but not really the reason you were going to stop.

“I love you too!”

By the time you made it to the track, the crew assigned to set-up was already present and working... and they were setting up the 'Check-In' booth on entirely the wrong side of the field. You shoved your smoothie at Katsu and ran across the field, waving your arms like a windmill and yelling, “No! Not there!”

You had to show them exactly where you wanted the check in station, and then you had to check that the track markings were placed at appropriate intervals. After that, there was an issue with two booths wanting to set up in the same location. Then someone complained that the bathrooms were still locked, and you had to run off and take care of that, too.

It seemed like everyone wanted your attention, and you were starting to wonder where your smoothie had gone. You were wondering about Katsu as well, but he wasn't going to give you a magical and sugary boost with one sip. It wasn't until the truck with the water bottles arrived that you noticed the two people sleeping on the bleachers. You stormed over, thinking that some of your workers were slacking off, and discovered Katsu and Mokuba taking a nap together. It was cute and amusing until you picked up both smoothie cups and discovered that they were empty.

You tossed both cups at Katsu's head, waking him up. “You drank my smoothie!”

“Ugh, why don't you ever let me sleep?”

“My. Smoothie!”

“Actually, that was Mokuba.”

The boy next to him was already awake and had been watching the exchange with amusement. You glare focused on him and his grin widened. “I'll buy you another one.”

You decided to ignore that for the moment. “What are you even doing here so early?” You hadn't had a clue that he'd even arrived.

“Seto wanted to make sure that I showed up. So he basically dropped me off on his way to work to make sure that I stayed.” He leaned back and closed his eyes again. “I miss my cars already.”

“Get up! Both of you.” You waited until they both stood before continuing, “Now, Mokuba, I'm going to let you take care of the sign in booth—”

“I wanted the sign in booth!” Katsu interrupted.

“You'll just insult people's clothing.” You pointed to the truck near the parking lot. “See that truck? They're unloading water bottles. Go make sure they all end up near the sign in booth.”

“Oooooh! An executive position! I'll take it!” He took off, and you were sure that he was going to get carried away and start bossing everyone around within the hour. At least, his nitpicky nature would be put to good use making sure things were done right.

Forgetting about Katsu for the moment, you turned to Mokuba. “Follow me. I'll show you the ropes.”

"So are you really trying to make Seto look bad?”

You paused for a moment before continuing on your path to the sign in booth, which was now in the correct location. “I don't know where that impression would come from.”

“I'm supposed to be here making Kaiba Corp. look good right? That's what Seto said anyway. It doesn't look good if I'm sitting, doing nothing, and you're running around organizing everything.”

“That's... not quite how it works.” You refrained from using stronger language. You'd reached the sign in booth, and you leaned on the table. “Everyone has to sign in, even the press, so you get a chance to interact with every single person here. I'll even be working this booth during the rare moments when there isn't a problem. You're on display here, so be your charming self and make everyone love you. I'll be sending a few people to help you out when it starts to get busy.”

“You think I'm charming?”

“No.” You shoved the massive list of participants at him. “Make sure those stay stapled. They're in alphabetical order.”

“You clearly said that I'm charming.”

“It doesn't mean anything.” You had other things to do before the event got started so you began walking away from him. “I'll find someone to help you out and send them over with the badges!” you called back, still walking.

It was ridiculous that Mokuba Kaiba didn't even realize that being in the sign in booth guaranteed pictures of him in tomorrow's paper. Someone needed to explain how the press operated to the Kaibas. It bothered you that Kaiba still couldn't see that he could benefit from having you around. You were a pro at getting positive press, and your abilities could compliment his own.

Then a shrill piercing shriek rang through the air, and you knew that whoever was setting up the sound system didn't know what they were doing. You took off to deal with them before the noise deafened everyone.

After you dealt with the sound system, which took a while since you had to set up the entire system yourself, you discovered that a swarm of teenage girls were blocking off the check-in point and causing a great deal of trouble. The moment you stormed up, Mokuba shot you a guilty smile.

“Your fangirls?”

One of the girls was quick to defend herself. “We're his classmates!”

You grabbed a spare folding chair and stood on top of it. “OK LADIES, once you have your badge, you have to MOVE ON! The festivities are THAT WAY, and you won't get any laps done standing here.” When nobody moved, you barked out, “NOW!”

Some of the girls moved on and others checked in with huge grins. A camera flashed nearby, and you realized that this would find its way into tomorrow's story. That wasn't good. They could take a very negative spin on it. So you stayed at the booth for a while and made sure to put your best face forward. You smiled and greeted everyone. You asked about the lives of people that had come to your events before, and you introduced yourself to all the new faces.

Then two girls got into a fight, and you had to run off and help security deal with it. You weren't surprised when it turned out to be two of Mokuba's classmates. That kid was more popular than you would have expected. He still wasn't as popular as his brother--if Kaiba were present, you would have had to put more money into security--but Mokuba was still pretty popular.

It did give you a very good idea though. You hunted down Katsu, who was at the first place you looked: the food stands. He waved his paper bowl at you the moment he saw you. “Hey, come try some of these! They're called 'Natchoos,' and they're DELICIOUS!”

“Maybe later. Do you know if we have any raffle tickets lying around?”

He grinned. “What're we auctioning? Is it a date with you? Or me? Can I be auctioned off?”

“No to all of the above. Look just grab the tickets and join me over on the stage ok?”

“I'm on it!”

You made your way over to the stage and waited for Katsu to join you. When he finally arrived with the tickets, you interrupted the song currently playing and grabbed a microphone. “Hey everyone! We're raising an amazing amount of money today!” You paused and waited as people cheered. “But how about we raise a little bit more? For two dollars you can buy an auction ticket, and at a quarter till noon, we'll have a drawing. The winner gets to walk their last lap around the track with MOKUBA KAIBA!”

The cheers from earlier were nothing compared to the complete roar of shouts and shrieking. Girls swarmed forward and waved dollar bills like you were some sort of stripper. Perhaps you should have put a little more thought into this, but it was too late now, and you were sure that all the tickets would be sold by the end of the day.

Somehow, with the help of your very alert staff, you managed to get the girls to form a single organized line. You decided that there should be a cap of five tickets per girl for the first hour or two and left Katsu in charge of selling the tickets. He'd make sure that nobody got more than their share until after the cap was lifted. Meanwhile, the day was starting to wear you out, so you checked in with your lap counters before collapsing in a chair at the check in booth.

Mokuba was not happy with you, which was completely expected. You hadn't bothered to make sure that it was okay with him first after all. But you weren't ashamed, and you didn't give him a chance to yell at you. When he stormed toward you, you held up a finger. “I promised your brother good publicity. This is gold.” You stretched out in your chair. “You're welcome.”

“What if I refuse?”

You shrugged. “Then you look like the world's biggest jerk in the news tomorrow. It would be an easy way to take your brother's title.”

“Aren't you supposed to be a jealous girl? Shouldn't you want to keep me all to yourself?”

You laughed. You couldn't help it. That was such a completely ridiculous notion. “I'm not sure where your ideas on women came from, but I don't really want you. Sorry.”

“Everyone wants something,” Mokuba muttered, more to himself than you. “So is this all to get my brother to like you?”

“This? Specifically? No.” You sat up straight and grinned as a woman approached your table. “So lovely to see you again, Mrs. Saito! Did you need help with something?”

“Oh I just wanted to congratulate you on organizing such a charming event! I'm hearing whispers that you're raising a record amount of money.”

“We won't really know how much was raised until everything is over,” you demurred. “It is looking promising.”

“I also hear that you're the one organizing the annual Nomiya charity event this year. It'll be so nice to have someone from your family working on it again. Have you decided where to host it yet?”

“No, but I should be able to work that out in the next two or three weeks.” You smiled at Mrs. Saito. “I trust I'll see you at the event?”

“Of course! The Saito family donates every year.” She waved and walked off to accost her next victim.

“You're organizing another event?” Mokuba was incredulous. He clearly didn't understand how you earned your keep in your family.

“Yeah, well, it's not the same thing. My family has been hosting it every single year for YEARS. It's more or less a ball, and all the money raised goes towards orphans and the...” you trailed off as your eyes landed on the stage. Katsu was crowd surfing across the sea of girls. How he'd managed to get up there and how he was managing to stay in the air were facts that were beyond your comprehension, but you needed to get him down before he hurt himself. Thoughts of Mokuba slipped away as you ran off to yank Katsu back to earth.

By the time the event was over, you were completely exhausted. All you wanted was a nice hot bath and a long nap. Maybe even some chocolate. But first, you needed to make sure that everything got packed up and that nothing got left behind. At least packing up was less stressful than setting up. The biggest incidents that happened were the occasional fight over a table or folding chair, and Katsu got a weird kick out of dealing with those.

Over the course of the event, you lost your energy and became more and more exhausted, but Katsu was the complete opposite. He enjoyed being surrounded by people, and by the end of the event, he was a bouncing bundle of energy.

This was really why you'd dragged him along. He was the best at making sure everyone cleaned up properly. Meanwhile, you tried not to pass out in the middle of the field. It was a losing battle.

You were surprised when Mokuba popped up at your side. You'd assumed that he'd left with the reporters or his fangirls. “You know the event ended nearly an hour ago. You can leave now.”

“Actually, I can't. I don't have a car.” Your tired mind was slow to process what he was saying so he elaborated. “Seto dropped me off. He claimed that he would pick me up, but honestly, it would be faster to walk home than wait for him.”

“Call a driver. I know you have a few.”

Mokuba pouted. “But I still owe you a smoothie.”

You saw what he was trying to do. “No. I'm tired. Go home.” That patch of grass was starting to look awfully comfortable.

“Oh just go out with him!”

Of course Katsu would pop up during the conversation. It so figured. “I'm already taking you home.”

“Nope. I called a driver. He's over there in the parking lot.”

Katsu had been planning this. Your eyes narrowed at him.

He ignored your glare. “Honestly, I think you owe Mokuba a date.”

“Oh, really?” You had to hear why Katsu thought you owed Mokuba anything.

“The guy walked a lap around the track with a chick who was crying her eyes out the entire time. Supposedly from happiness.” Katsu made a face. “She was getting snot and mascara all over the place. You couldn't PAY me to touch that.”

That was true. That girl had been tragic. You were actually surprised that Mokuba had managed to maintain contact with her without running away. From a distance, you couldn't even tell that he had been cringing away from her the whole time.

“He's right! I had to go scrub my hands and arms afterward.” Mokuba grabbed your hand. “So since I walked with her for you then it's only fair that you go out with me.”

“You walked with her for good publicity!” You tried to yank your hand out of Mokuba's but failed. His grip on you was far too tight. You gave up and sighed. “Oh fine! I'll drive you home.”

“And I can buy you a smoothie on the way?”

Mokuba was getting far too close for comfort. “No.”

Katsu whined out your name. “Stop being so difficult.”

“Yes, because it'll make such a great news story if I'm spotted with Mokuba Kaiba so soon after... well, you know!”

“Fine.” Katsu conceded. He put his hand on Mokuba's shoulder. “I'm on your side, but she has a point.”

Mokuba smiled, and you were a little worried. He was far too happy for a guy getting shot down. “Then you'll just have to come inside when we get to my place. I'll have the cook make us some smoothies.”

You looked between Mokuba's grin and Katsu's smile of absolute glee. You were outvoted, and you didn't have a single defense. They'd won, and they both knew it.

“Fine.”

The smile that the two boys shared with each other made it very clear that they had been conspiring. It was all Katsu's idea. You just knew it. He meddled far too much in your social life and bemoaned the fact that you didn't have a love life. In fact, you were positive that he was more upset by your lack of love life than you were.

“Well, everything is almost done here, and I can handle the rest. Why don't you two get going?” Katsu winked suggestively at you.

When he called you later for 'details,' you resolved to explain to him that you were only interested in the elder Kaiba not in the Kaiba name. Mokuba didn't seem to be anything like his older brother. You couldn't just go out with him because you couldn't have his brother.

You led Mokuba over to your car, and the moment you were both in the car, he began talking about the event.

“That girl who won was super crazy. She told me that it was like a dream come true and that she'd never been happier. She spent the entire time sobbing and then asked for my number!” He laughed as if that were the most ridiculous thing.

“Poor thing,” you mumbled. You felt confident that the girl didn't know Mokuba at all and was more than likely mentally imbalanced. No sane person would have sobbed the way she had. Yet as sad as her feelings for Mokuba seemed to you, they still probably felt real to her. You could feel a small amount of empathy for her. Sure, you knew that you were nowhere near that level of deluded, but on occasion, people had treated you as if you were.

"Poor thing?”

You hadn't intended for Mokuba to hear you. “Well, she's a little delusional. We don't need to make fun of her for it.”

"A little?” Mokuba sneered and reminded you of his brother. “She told me that she knew I was her soulmate. Do you know how often girls claim that?”

“I just feel a little bit sorry for her. She's clearly not in a very good mindset.” You didn't want to argue about the issue with him. It was a little crazy to think that you were someone's soulmate or perfect for them when you didn't know them. Exactly the sort of crazy that you feared. Occasionally, you'd catch yourself fantasizing that you were the perfect girl for Seto Kaiba, so the only real difference between you and those girls was that you knew it wasn't real. You knew that you weren't perfect for him or his soulmate. You did your best to hold on to reality so that you wouldn't become like them. That didn't mean that you were ready to criticize them.

Something about your statement caused Mokuba to lapse into silence. That made you worry, but it didn't make you worry enough to break the silence. It wasn't like you had much to say to him even if he had been useful today. The tickets for the raffle had completely sold out, and when Katsu took your car to buy more, those ended up selling out as well.

Mokuba played with your radio, changing the stations as if he couldn't find one that he liked. It didn't bother you, music was music, and while you were driving, it was just background noise, so you let that pass without comment.

You got about halfway across town before you finally gave in and broke the silence. “I'm grateful that you went along with the raffle. It helped us raise a lot more money. Thank you.” You weren't above thanking people, and that raffle had helped out. You couldn't be sure until everything was tallied, but you thought that the fundraiser might have broken a few records.

“It was nothing. Besides, I can wash away the tears and snot.”

You let out an amused snort. “It's not like she was rubbing her face against you.”

“It was the only thing she wasn't rubbing against me.”

Well, that was an unsettling mental image and something that you couldn't quite form a response to.

The rest of the drive to the Kaiba estate felt like forever, and you were a little relieved as you pulled up to the gates. Soon this awkwardness could end, and you could go home.

A guard walked up to your car, and you rolled down the window to let him see that Mokuba Kaiba was in your car. Mokuba decided that he wasn't close enough and unbuckled his seat belt so he could lean over and into your lap to say hello to the guard. Mokuba put one of his hands on the door of your car as he leaned forward, but the other hand placed itself on your seat, right between your legs. It felt like greeting the guard took an eternity as you did your very best to sit completely still. You'd rub against Mokuba if you shifted even the slightest. He wasn't actually touching you, but he was so close that he might as well have been touching you. It was awkward, and you could feel the heat radiating from his body.

Finally the guard walked away, and Mokuba settled back into his own seat. Since Mokuba treated that brief invasion of space as nothing, you decided not to comment. Especially since he might notice how flushed you were if you did comment. Then the gate opened, and you drove down the driveway. Mokuba pointed out where you should park, and you pulled into that space without a word.

“What? No expressions of complete awe?” Mokuba teased as you got out of the car.

“No, I'm completely awed that a place this small can fit both Kaiba egos.” That wasn't completely true. The Kaiba mansion was massive, but it didn't actually inspire any awe. It was a little bit ostentatious to have a place this size for only two people. Not that you could talk. You lived in the city, so your place was smaller, but it was still much larger than it needed to be. If you wanted, you could go days without seeing your father or brother, even when you were all home.

“That's why we're never here at the same time!”

You mused that it was nice that Mokuba didn't seem easily insulted. You spent so much time at school doing your best to be diplomatic and not insult any of your 'friends' that it was always nice to be around easygoing people like Katsu and Mokuba. “So... you owe me a smoothie?”

“That's right.” Mokuba grabbed your hand and nearly dragged you to a side door for the mansion. He yanked it open and pulled you straight into the kitchen. “I hope you don't mind using the servant's entrance. It's faster.” His comment seemed to be more of an afterthought, and you wondered how often he dragged people through this entrance. Katsu would have been amused by the novelty of it, but you didn't know a single other person who wouldn't be at least a little insulted.

It wasn't your place to tell him that. “Sure, whatever.”

He asked one of the maids to make you both smoothies and led you over to a table. “I actually wanted to ask you something.”

“What was it?” You dragged out the question, not wanting the answer. He looked serious, but that didn't mean he wasn't about to ask you something completely ridiculous.

“Why do you guys have an annual ball for orphans?”

“Oh.” That was unexpected. “I'm... not sure really. It was my mother's plan originally, and I never really got a chance to ask her why. I think she just really loved children. If she'd had her way, I think I might have had a million brothers and sisters.” That was as much as you were willing to say on the matter. “I know your brother shows up every year though.” He always donated a lot, too. It was a small reason why you'd taken up the planning this year. You wanted to throw a great event and raise a lot of money. A tiny part of you hoped that you might be able to impress him.

"Really?” Mokuba pouted. “I've never heard of this event before!”

You smiled. “I'm sure you have. You probably just didn't pay attention. You don't actually go to events and represent Kaiba Corp. very often, do you?”

“Nope. I'm learning about the company, but whenever people corner me and want to make deals, I never know what to say!”

That was odd. You acted as your father's representative often, but people knew better than to try talking business with you. It wasn't a secret that you had no official position in the company. It also made people a little too willing to tell you things that they shouldn't.

“You'd make a good spokesman for Kaiba Corp. you know. You do a better job socializing with people at events than your brother.” It was a compliment, but it was also a fact. As much as you admired Kaiba, he wasn't good with people. People respected and feared him, so they did what he wanted them to, but they didn't often like him. From what you could tell, people liked Mokuba. He probably wasn't hard enough to do business, but he could get people to like him, and as a result, they'd be more willing to do business with his brother.

Your smoothies were placed down on the table, and you took a sip from yours. It was delicious!

“Thanks.” Mokuba grinned at you as you drank your smoothie. “So will you need help planning this event?”

“Oh, I never do any event completely by myself!” You winked. “That's why I have a hired team.”

“Well, if you want more help. I'm more than willing to help out! What are you planning to do?”

You were reluctant to tell him much. “I'm not sure yet.”

“Why not?”

You shrugged. “I need to go down to the orphanage and see what they really need, and I'll organize the event around that.” You were also planning on letting the orphanage have a more active role, but Mokuba didn't need to know that.

“Would you mind if I tagged along?”

Yes, yes, you would, but you didn't want to offend him, and you couldn't see how it would really hurt. “You can come, if you want, I suppose.”

“Great!” He nearly jumped up from his seat. “Now how about a tour?”

“A tour?” He was getting a little silly. It wasn't like you were some schoolgirl ready to squeal all over everything. You could keep your composure even though you hadn't ever been inside Kaiba's mansion before. He lived here, too, and you would be curious to see what his rooms looked like, but you doubted Mokuba would show you those. “Sure.”

So Mokuba dragged you around. He showed you the dining room, the living room, the game room, the indoor pool, the outdoor pool, the library, and finally, he opened a door to reveal a bedroom. You wandered into the bedroom, curious, until you noticed a few posters decorating the wall. They were band posters which probably meant that—

“This is my room!” Mokuba declared.

Yep, you figured as much. “I hope the entire point of the tour wasn't to get me into your room.”

“It worked didn't it?” He had such a cocky grin on his face as he leaned against the door frame.

You wanted to walk out, but he was taking up far too much space in the doorway. To walk through, you'd have to push past him. “Well, since the tour is over, I guess I'd better get home.” You hoped that he would take the hint and move.

Mokuba frowned. “Stay and hang out with me for a while.”

“I really just want to go home and take a nap. I'm pretty tired.” It was true. It was also true that you didn't want to spend too much time with Mokuba. He unsettled you, and you weren't sure what he wanted.

“You could take a nap in my bed.” He winked.

After that comment, you decided to shove past him. “That would be too indecent. I really couldn't.” You started walking down the hall in the direction that you'd both come from.

“It'll take you longer to reach the door if you go that way!” he called out.

You stopped and turned. “Then why don't you show me out?”

“It'll be my pleasure.” He placed a hand on the small of your back and began guiding you out of the mansion. You did your absolute best to ignore the fact that he was touching you. It was making you feel... well, you just didn't want to think about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowish chapter, but this fic is going to take some time to really get going. I needed to introduce the people that 'you' hang out with at school. They're importantish but don't worry too much about having to keep track of them yet. Kaiba won't be back until either the next chapter or the one after it but there is going to be a lot of Mokuba.
> 
> On the subject of Mokuba, um, yeah, I'm getting carried away with him. He's so not his brother. :D  
> Enjoy?

_KAIBA SPOTTED AT NOMIYA EVENT  
_

_Mokuba Kaiba was seen at Miss. Nomiya's fundraiser this weekend. The two seemed to be very close and both were spotted greeting all the participants together at the 'Welcome' booth. We even have sources that say that Miss. Nomiya drove the young Mr. Kaiba home after the event._

_What could this mean? There's no clear answer, but one thing is certain, there doesn't seem to be any negativity between the Nomiya and Kaiba families._

_For more details about the fundraiser, turn to the 'Local Events' section._  


\-----

Of course, by the time school started on Monday morning, everyone had seen the brief little article. They'd even seen the numerous pictures of you sitting with Mokuba at the event. People wanted to know what was really going on with you and the Kaiba family. Before, they'd all accepted that you had just been spotted with Seto Kaiba because of your father's business, but now that you'd been spotted with Mokuba, everybody thought that something more had to be going on. 

You wished that there was something more there, but that wasn't something that you were going to say to anyone. 

In fact, the moment you'd walked into your first class, Kimiko Aihara ambushed you. She squealed your name and grabbed your arm, yanking you toward her. “Why didn't you tell me you knew Mokuba Kaiba so well! I'm supposed to be your best friend!” 

She wasn't your best friend, and even if she were, you knew that you couldn't trust her with anything. You couldn't tell her that though, it might hurt her feelings, and she was still a nice person underneath all her gossip. 

“I don't actually _know_ Mokuba Kaiba. I only met him recently.” That was true, but not entirely. You did think that you probably had a pretty good grasp on what sort of person he was already. 

“But is it true that you took him home afterward? Are you seeing one of the Kaibas?” 

“You know, he has his own car.” It was an attempt at being misleading enough to make them assume the answer was no. “I'm not seeing anyone either.” You threw your stuff down and sat in your desk hoping that the conversation was closed. You should have known better. Kimiko leaned on your desk so that she could continue the conversation. 

“Well, you know, Yumi is absolutely steamed,” she whispered as if it would stop people from being able to hear her. “She was going to announce the date for her wedding this weekend, but your fundraiser did so well that it would have completely overshadowed her announcement.” 

You simply hummed a response. To be honest, you really didn't care about whatever drama Yumi Saito wanted to cook up. You'd always thought that she was a bitch, and she only vaguely tolerated you because of Kimiko and Chiharu. 

“She'll be announcing the dates on Friday. I'm going to be a bridesmaid!” 

“How nice.” You wished that class would just start already. 

“It's a shame you won't be a bridesmaid too! Yumi said that she couldn't ask more than four girls though because her husband-to-be was only going to have four grooms. Sucks!” 

“Yeah.” Whatever. 

“But you'll need a date to the wedding since you're not dating Seto Kaiba...” she trailed off thoughtfully. 

You hoped that Yumi somehow managed to pull off not inviting you to the wedding. That would save both of you a bunch of headaches. 

“OH! Why don't you go with my brother?” 

Oh great. Now Kimiko wanted to play matchmaker. Why couldn't she just figure out that you weren't interested in her older brother in the slightest? Thankfully, your teacher walked into the classroom, and Kimiko was forced to dash across the room to her own seat. 

By the time class ended, Kimiko had completely forgotten about Yumi's wedding, and she began bombarding you with questions about Mokuba. You gave her the bare minimum as far as information went. You told her details about what had happened at the event, but you didn't tell her anything about meeting Mokuba beforehand or about going to his place afterward. You did your best to make it sound like he'd just been there to represent Kaiba Corp, which should have been true. 

Chiharu Kaneko was in your next class and you desperately hoped that she might be able to get Kimiko onto another subject. Sadly Chiharu just quietly listened to your conversation with Kimiko without a word. It was up to you to end the conversation. 

“Kimi, seriously, I don't even think I'll be seeing Mokuba Kaiba again. Now why don't you tell me how the decorations for Prom are going?” 

That was a subject that was sure to keep her occupied for a while, and to be fair, you didn't mind hearing about it. You'd probably get dragged by Katsu as his date so it was nice to know what was being planned. 

When lunch rolled around, you found yourself in the hot seat once again. 

“Hey, let's go out for lunch!” Kimiko suggested. “We could pick up your new friend Mokuba!” 

That was definitely something you did not want to do. “He goes to a public school, Kimi.” 

“So?” She clearly didn't see the point. “We've got plenty of time to pick him up. You can send him a text.” 

“They don't let the students leave for lunch.” 

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Seriously? How barbaric!” 

“I doubt she's even friends with Mokuba anyway,” Saito interjected. 

“I keep telling you I'm not.” You glared at her. It wasn't like you were trying to pretend that you were super close to Mokuba in the first place. You sighed. “Look, I've got to talk about the stuff I missed last week with some of the teachers anyway. Why don't you guys just go without me?” 

Kimiko whined like a pained animal. “It won't be any fun without you!” 

Saito snorted, letting you know that lunch would probably be more fun if you were never there. “She has other things to do. Let's just leave her.” She grabbed Kimiko's hand and began to drag her toward the parking lot. 

Kimiko waved goodbye to you and called out that she'd pick you up something. 

Chiharu lagged behind, looking uncertain. “Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?” 

“Yeah, go on.” You waved for her to go after Kimiko and Saito and watched as she reluctantly walked off. She probably felt bad about leaving you during lunch since you nearly always ate with them, but you didn't mind. In fact, you'd be able to eat lunch with Katsu now that you were freed from having to eat with them. 

That was assuming that he wasn't ditching. You grabbed your stuff from your locker before sneaking up to the roof of the school. If he was still at school, he'd be there. 

He was on the roof, and as you approached him, you realized that he was sleeping. He must have been up here for a while to have already fallen asleep. You shook his shoulder, not bothering to be gentle, and startled him awake. 

“Whaddya want?” he slurred, still half-asleep. 

“Did you skip class to _sleep_ up here?” 

Your disapproval woke him up, and he rubbed at his eyes. “Yeah, so what? We're graduating in a few weeks. Classes don't really matter anymore. What are **you** doing up here anyway?” 

You let him change the subject. “The girls went out for lunch. They wanted to go see Mokuba. I made an excuse to get out of it.” 

“Didn't want to see Mokuba?” 

“Didn't want them to gossip,” you corrected. 

“Kookoo does like to gossip. She'd probably tell the entire school that you're engaged to him by tomorrow.” 

You giggled, not because the idea of that was funny, but because you knew that Kimiko really didn't like being called 'Kookoo.' Only Katsu could get away with it, and only because he was filthy rich. Actually, he got away with more than most people in general. 

“Yeah probably, but honestly, I'm just up here to raid your lunch. You do have a lunch don't you?” He tended to bring rather large lunches, probably because he spent a majority of his time on the roof eating. It was a wonder that he wasn't fat. 

He shoved his bag toward you, and you eagerly dug through it. His cooks made some of the best food; it was really a shame that you couldn't afford to alienate your 'friends' or you'd eat with Katsu all the time. 

“So I talked to Mokuba yesterday—” 

“Great,” you muttered. That was the last thing you needed. Maybe you should reconsider eating with him. 

“AND.” Katsu clearly didn't like being interrupted. “I was thinking you should take him to Prom.” 

“I thought we were going together! And he doesn't even go here!” 

“Well, the three of us could go together, and he was really curious. Don't you think it would be fun to have Mokuba at Prom?” 

“More like a madhouse.” 

Katsu tutted. “You know, the more time you spend with Mokuba, the more chances you get to see Seto. The more Mokuba likes you, the better your chances with Seto.” 

“I'm not going to use Mokuba. That's a horrible plan Katsu!” You were more than a little offended. Sure you had no problems with manipulating the press, and you helped your father with his business partners when necessary, but you weren't just going to be Mokuba's friend so you could get at his brother. Even you weren't that shameless. 

Besides, Seto Kaiba was too smart for that to work. 

“I wasn't suggesting that!” Katsu stuck his tongue out at you. “I'm just saying, you should really try to get to know him, kitten. He's more interesting than those cows you hang out with.” 

“They're not cows.” You might not have been especially fond of them, but you still felt the need to defend them. Kimiko and Chiharu were nice enough and Saito... well, she wasn't a cow... most of the time. “Besides, you know that I have to play nice with them. The Aiharas are business partners and Chiharu's father is an important customer.” 

“Business,” Katsu said the word like it was the most disgusting thing in the world. 

“Sometimes I agree. Do you have any sweets?” 

He went digging through his bag and found a large piece of cake. You took it from him and cut it in half. 

“Hey not so much!” 

You smiled innocently. “I'm saving you from yourself.” 

“You'll get fat.” 

“I'll sacrifice my looks for you!” you cried dramatically. 

When lunch ended, you tried to convince Katsu to actually go to class. It was a failed effort. He ended up pointing out that you missed a lot of school, too. You tried to explain that you missed school for actual reasons while he just ditched because he didn't like his classes. That didn't work. 

In the parking lot, you discovered Mokuba Kaiba casually leaning against your car. 

“You know, I'd prefer it if you stayed off my car.” He jumped, revealing that you'd startled him, and you grinned even though that hadn't been intentional. “How did you even get here?” 

“I wanted to stop by and see you in your uniform.” He was standing in front of you now, and he pulled your arm, trying to get you to twirl in a circle for him. 

You remained firmly in place. “I didn't ask why you were here, I asked how you got here. They normally don't let strangers into the school.” 

“That's why I'm not in the building. It was easy enough to just drive into this parking lot. My car fits right in.” He was smiling as if waiting around in a parking lot was no big deal. Maybe to him it wasn't, but you had better things to do with your time. 

“Well, you've seen me, and now it's time for me to leave.” You tried to walk past him, but he stuck his arm out and wrapped it around your stomach so you couldn't get by. 

“Wanna go to the arcade with me?” 

For a moment you, didn't even understand what he was asking. The arcade wasn't really a place you'd ever had a chance to see. In another life, Katsu might have dragged you to an arcade, but he had his own personal arcade at his house and none of your other friends were into that sort of stuff. You weren't surprised that Mokuba liked games, but you were surprised that he didn't have his own arcade like Katsu. Surely the Kaibas could afford one, and you knew that there was more than enough room in their mansion. 

You almost said no, but you were curious about the arcade, and you **had** promised Katsu that you'd try to get to know Mokuba better. So you agreed to go with him. 

“Great. How about you drive home and I follow you? Then we can both go in my car for convenience.” 

You didn't like that plan. You liked having your own car wherever you were so that you could always leave when you wanted. If you let Mokuba drive you to the arcade, it would feel too much like a date, and you wouldn't be able to go home until he took you home. 

“You really don't want to have to look for parking near the arcade. There's almost never any.” He must have read the hesitation in your eyes. “If we go in one car, you won't have to walk two blocks alone.” 

“I suppose.” It made sense. There were places in Domino where parking was a rarity, and you didn't actually know where the arcade was either. 

You got into your car and didn't even bother giving him time to get into his own before you were speeding out of the parking lot. He would just have to keep up or give up. You weren't actively trying to ditch him, but at the same time, you weren't going to make it easy. 

By the time you got home, you were fairly sure that you'd lost him on the way. You didn't expect him to know where you lived, but there was the chance that he could find you. You pulled your bag out of your car and entered your house. Unlike the Kaibas, you didn't have a gated home, so you simply let the doorman know that you were expecting a Mokuba Kaiba and to let him in. If you were going to go to an arcade with Mokuba, then you should probably change out of your school's uniform. 

As you were getting dressed in something appropriately casual, the doorbell to your house rang. It was probably Mokuba, so you tried to get ready a little faster, not wanting to be completely rude and keep him waiting. 

He ended up only having to wait ten minutes at most. Since you didn't want to give him the wrong impression, you didn't try to look cute or attractive. You just threw on clothes that were comfortable and grabbed the things you'd need. Then you made your way to the front door via the kitchen so you could grab something to munch on. 

Mokuba didn't seem impatient at all. He was simply leaning against the wall near the front door and messing around with his phone. You couldn't tell what he was doing, because the moment he noticed you, he slid his phone into his pocket. 

“Ready to go?” 

You nodded, and he opened your front door. As you followed him out to his car, you decided to ask him the question that was on your mind. “Why do you even want to hang out with me?” 

He held open the passenger door for you. “Why not? You're a cute girl.” 

“That wasn't what I meant.” You got into his car and wondered if being direct would get you anywhere. People often danced around the real subject, and you weren't even sure if Mokuba would be willing to admit to why he was really interested in you. Mokuba closed the door behind you so you waited for him to get into the car before you continued, “I'm sure you know plenty of attractive girls, but you don't know me that well.” 

“You seem interesting.” He didn't even look at you as he started his car. As you listened to the roar of the engine turning over, you realized that he didn't really want to talk about why he'd taken such a sudden interest in you. 

You were sure that it had something to do with his brother. You didn't know enough to figure out the specifics, but it was likely that Kaiba had something to do with it. If it were you, well you would probably have sent Mokuba to figure out your own ulterior motives. Kaiba was certainly suspicious enough of you to assume that you had ulterior motives. 

At the same time, Kaiba didn't see you as any sort of a threat so it was unlikely that he'd actually put forth any sort of effort into figuring you out. It was sad, but he probably didn't even think about you when you weren't around. You didn't know much about Mokuba yet, but he probably did decide to get to know you on his own without any orders from Kaiba. Except you couldn't figure out why. 

The first day that you'd met Mokuba, he'd said that his brother had talked about you a little. It was possible that Kaiba had said something that would make you seem interesting to Mokuba. Or Mokuba could just be suspicious of you. 

Well, either way, it wasn't worth worrying about. 

When Mokuba parked his car on a tiny side-street that seemed to be abandoned, you were instantly suspicious. “What are we doing here?” 

“I usually park here when I go to the arcade. I told you that there's no parking in front of it.” He didn't seem to actually catch on to your paranoia because he simply pulled his keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. 

You were torn between calling yourself a baby and refusing to get out of the car. Sure this seemed to be a pretty abandoned and dangerous section of town, but it was daylight and Mokuba was with you. Unless Mokuba planned on having you kidnapped or something. Katsu seemed to like him, but what did you really know about the guy? 

Your door was pulled open. “Are you coming or what?” 

Well, you could see a busy street just ahead. It couldn't be that dangerous. “Sorry, I spaced out,” you apologized as you got out of his car. 

He grinned and took your hand. “Just in case you space out again.” He winked. “I don't want you getting lost.” 

“I think I'll be fine.” You tried to tug your hand out of his grip, but it was useless, he was too strong. 

“No. Someone as pretty as you are might get grabbed if I don't protect you.” His free hand toyed with a piece of your hair. “Well, let's go, my friends are expecting us.” He started walking down the street and pulled you along behind him. 

“Your friends?” You didn't like being pulled around so you fell in step with him. 

“Yep! They're all meeting at the arcade, and I said I'd join them.” He faltered and stopped for a moment. “Don't let the girls bother you.” Then he was pulling you along again. 

You wondered what he'd meant by that. “I never let people bother me.” It was true. Normally if they tried you were able to get rid of them. 

“Yeah. I noticed on Saturday that you're pretty good at handling people.” Then he started running across the street, dragging you behind him. “C'mon, it's time to cross!” 

He unexpectedly stopped the moment he reached the curb on the other side, and you ran right into him. “Sorry.” You pulled as far away as you could while he kept his grip on your hand. 

“You can run into me anytime you'd like.” He started walking again. “We're pretty close to the arcade. It's just on the next block.” 

You wondered what his friends would think about you. He seemed to be planning on walking into the arcade holding your hand. Would they assume that he was dating you? Had he already told them anything about you? His comment had been fairly odd too. Why did he warn you about the girls? You remembered how the girls from his school had been all over him on Saturday. Maybe they wouldn't like you simply because you were walking hand-in-hand with Mokuba Kaiba. You hoped that he had better taste in friends than those girls who'd swarmed him, but you didn't honestly know what his school was like. It was a public school so maybe all the girls there were gold-diggers. Maybe they really didn't just know how to act. You'd heard some pretty bad things about public school. 

By the time Mokuba was leading you into the arcade, you were imagining that all his friends were gang members and that their girlfriends were big and scary. 

The reality wasn't anything like you were expecting. A group of guys and girls waved Mokuba over the moment they spotted him, and they were all very normal looking. Even if the guys did all seem to be about the same height as Mokuba, which was weird considering how tall Mokuba was. You hadn't had the chance to see the two Kaiba brothers side-by-side yet, but you actually thought that Mokuba might be a little bit taller than his big brother. 

There were eight guys in the group, and they all seemed to be dressed pretty casually. Some of them were wearing jeans and a t-shirt while others looked like they'd just thrown on basketball shorts under an old shirt. 

There weren't as many girls in the group, but there were still quite a few, and they were all petite and tiny. Unlike the guys, they all seemed to be dressed the same way, just in different colored miniskirts and t-shirts, and compared to them, you actually felt a little under dressed in your very casual clothing. 

“Dude, you're late!” one of the guys called out as Mokuba led you over to their group. 

Once you were closer to his friends and he didn't have to yell, Mokuba introduced you to everyone. “Her school gets out later than ours and I had to wait for her.” 

_Sure, blame me_. You rolled your eyes. It wasn't like you'd actually asked to come with him today. “So do you all go to school with Mokuba?” you asked. The answer was probably yes, but it didn't hurt to ask, and it would hopefully get a conversation going. 

“We're his teammates.” This came from the guy in front of you. The only one wearing a baseball cap. 

“Teammates? For what?” You directed your question at Mokuba, but he wasn't the one who answered. 

“He didn't mention he was on the basketball team?” The boy who answered seemed shocked that Mokuba wouldn't have told you this fact. 

You were actually fairly surprised, too. Mokuba seemed like the sort of guy who would brag about everything he was good at. 

“I'm their best player.” 

There was the bragging. You hadn't misjudged him after all. 

“No way!” The same guy with the hat was speaking again, and you wondered if he was the leader. All the other guys had started to talk in little groups amongst themselves, mostly ignoring the conversation you were having with Mokuba and Mr. Hat. “You've got nothing on me.” 

“Really? Then why was I the one with the VIP trophy at the end of the season?” 

“They just felt sorry for you.” 

You were officially bored. You didn't really care about basketball, and you didn't want to sit around and listen to a pissing contest. Your eyes slowly made their way around the room as you took in all the bright lights and the many loud machines. It was all fascinating, and you had no idea where to start. 

There was a machine that two people seemed to be moving their feet on. It looked like a weird form of dancing, and you wanted to go over there. Except the machines with fake guns that people could shoot looked like fun too. There was even a machine with a mallet next to it, and you wanted to know what the mallet was for. 

The motorcycles were what ended up getting your attention in the end. There were two fake motorcycles attached to machines, and it looked like you had to steer them for the game. You hadn't ever had the chance to get on one before, but it looked like fun. 

You started to walk over to that game, but Mokuba was still holding your hand, and he refused to let go. “Where are you going?” 

“To play a game. I didn't come to the arcade to listen to you talk.” _I'm also not your girlfriend,_ you wanted to add. 

A few of Mokuba's friends laughed, and one of them even declared, “I like this one.” 

“What do you wanna play?” Mokuba asked, clearly ignoring his friends' comments. 

You pointed in the direction of the motorcycles, not sure exactly what sort of game they were since this was your first time in an arcade. If you had to guess, you would assume that it had something to do with driving. 

“Racing?” Mokuba was grinning from ear to ear. “You'll never beat me you know.” 

That sounded like a challenge, and you were never one to back away from a challenge. “I'll have you know I'm an excellent driver.” 

During the very first round you played, you accidentally ended up driving right off the road and crashing. Your only consolation was the fact that Mokuba had laughed so much that he'd crashed as well. 

“At least this was my first time playing one of these game. What's your excuse?” you teased him. 

“You're too distracting for me to keep my eyes off you.” 

He was so dramatic. “I'm surprised you do basketball and not theater.” 

“I do theater too!” He grinned. “I've been told I'd be the perfect Prince Charming.” 

He was too amusing. You really could see why Katsu liked him so much, but it was time to change the subject. “Well let's play a different game then.” You turned to survey the arcade. There was a shooting game nearby, and you were pretty sure that you could beat Mokuba in that. Katsu loved them, and you played with him all the time. So you led him over to a shooter and picked up one of the plastic guns. “What about this game?” 

“Sure. I'll even go easy on you this time.” He winked, and you refrained from rolling your eyes. 

Oh well, you'd make the most of it. “Would you? I've never played something like this before.” A total lie, but he'd regret going easy on you when you won. 

It wasn't the easiest game, and he figured out pretty quickly that you knew what you were doing. Luckily, by that point you had just enough of a lead that you were still able to beat him. He demanded a rematch. You managed to beat him again, so he decided it was time to play another game. 

It ended up being a lot of fun. You had to admit that you enjoyed spending time with Mokuba at the arcade. Katsu would be overjoyed when you called him later. 

Then you made the mistake of telling Mokuba that today had been fun when he dropped you off. 

He couldn't hide how pleased he was. “So does that mean I get a kiss?” 

“No.” You could feel your face turning red. The boy was shameless. “This wasn't a date.” 

“Then let me take you on one this weekend.” He seemed confident that you'd say yes. Well that was too bad for him. 

“I'm busy with work for the charity event.” It was true. You had to visit the orphanage this weekend and figure out where to hold the event. 

He wasn't as disappointed as you would have expected him to be. “Are you going to the orphanage?” 

_How did he know that?_ “Yeah. On Saturday.” 

“Is it still ok if I tag along?” 

Right, you'd promised him that he could help out. “Sure. I guess. I'll be going over there around one.” 

“I'll meet you there then.” 

You smiled at him and tried to hide your real thoughts on the matter. “Great. Looking forward to it.” You didn't know why Mokuba was trying to integrate himself into your life, but it had the potential to become annoying. It was a good thing he wasn't irritating or you would probably be sick of him by now.


	5. Chapter 5

When you told Mokuba that you were planning to be at the orphanage at one, you'd told him the truth. Your original plan was to head over there after you ate lunch.

Unfortunately your plans got ripped to shreds and fed to a goat by your darling father and brother. You told them that you'd have lunch with them, but you didn't expect them to invite along a group of people.

Perhaps you should have been suspicious. When you went out with your brother and father, normally you were the one who made the reservations, but this time your father told you that he would take care of it. His excuse at the time had been that he was going to make last minute reservations at one of the more popular restaurants and he thought that they would give him less of a problem than they would give you. It seemed like a valid reason at the time.

Then you showed up at the restaurant and discovered that the Aiharas were eating lunch with your family. Not only that, but the only seat left had you placed at the end of the table and right next to Daitaro Aihara, the man that your father and brother would love for you to develop an interest in. If you were the perfect daughter, Daitaro would be the object of your obsession.

You politely greeted Daitaro and Mr. Aihara before taking your seat at the end of the table.

The moment you sat down next to Daitaro, he tried to ask you a question about some new political issue that was related to your father's business.

You muttered something noncommital before changing the subject. “Where's your sister?” If you didn't direct the conversation he would try to talk about politics, business, or economics. None of those subjects were things that you actually wanted to talk about. Your brother handled that sort of stuff, not you.

“I think she's helping out Saito with something today. Since you're all friends I thought that you would be with her. I'm _very_ happy to see you.” He emphasized the 'very,' drawing it out as if that would make it mean something to you. Except he said everything in the exact same monotone voice, which made it sound like he was just as happy about his sister helping out Saito as he was to see you.

“That's sweet of you,” you said once it became clear that he was waiting for a response. You looked away from him, trying desperately to think of another subject. Since you had plans to go to the orphanage today the charity event was at the forefront of your mind, so you opened your mouth to talk about it... only to be interrupted by a waitress asking you if you knew what you wanted to order.

You were slightly surprised that your brother hadn't just ordered for you. A quick glance at him confirmed that he was in 'Father Emulation Mode,' and not at all concerned with you.

You really hated business lunches. If your father had warned you that this wasn't going to be a family lunch you would have bailed, but now it was too late and you had to play nice until lunch was over. Though you were clearly the only person at the table who couldn't talk business.

After ordering your usual, you asked Daitaro if he wouldn't prefer to talk to your brother instead.

“It would be rude to ignore you, and I really would like to talk to you. I haven't seen you for a while.”

You wanted him to be rude to you so that you wouldn't have to talk to him. “That's very...” You almost called him sweet again. “Gentlemanly, of you.” The truth was that you avoided him. He bored you to tears.

Awkward silence descended on the two of you.

“I hear your father is making a great deal with Takahashi.”

Well, he was trying at least. Of course you didn't know a single thing about the deal he was talking about. When it came to your father's company, you were only involved with public relations. Since you dealt with the public image you did know some basic facts, but that didn't mean you wanted to talk about them. Except you needed to be polite.

“Is he?” You considered everything you knew about Takahashi. Your father was probably dealing with him as a supplier. “That'll be good for our company.”

Daitaro began to talk about the benefits of whatever deal your father was in the process of making and how he felt it would affect your father's company. You put all your years of training to use and simply listened to him without really hearing what he was saying. You smiled at appropriate moments and gave him a murmured comment of encouragement here and there, but mostly you were only pretending to care about what he was talking about.

Once everyone seemed to be done with their lunch you tried to excuse yourself. It wasn't because you wanted to escape from this painfully boring lunch, though that was admittedly a factor, but it was almost time for you to meet with Mokuba at the orphanage.

“I'm sorry that I need to leave so soon, but it was nice seeing you Mr. Aihara, Daitaro.” You inclined your head toward both men as you stood.

Your father said your name, just your name but it served as a warning. That tone of voice meant that he didn't approve of your actions at the moment.

You tried to protest. “I have a meeting soon, for the charity.”

“Shouhei mentioned your meeting to me. Call your friend and postpone it.”

His tone said that his mind was decided, arguing with him wouldn't help matters. Besides, arguing in public would be rude. You sat down as calmly as possible while glaring at your brother. Suddenly the entire luncheon made complete sense.

A few days ago, when Katsu happened to mention Mokuba's desire to help out with the ball in front of your brother, Shouhei had nearly snapped. It wasn't bad enough that you were already making a fool of yourself in front of the older Kaiba, but now you were going to get involved with the younger Kaiba? He completely opposed the idea.

You hoped at the time that you'd managed to convince Shouhei that you had no interest in Mokuba and that it was simply business. Apparently Shouhei didn't believe you and was getting your father involved. Jerk.

The conversation started back up as if nothing had just happened. Your father was content knowing that the matter was settled while both Aiharas were politely ignoring the event and pretending that it hadn't happened. Your brother was the only one showing any reaction to it with the satisfied smile on his face.

“There's a store nearby that just opened. They sell Italian ice cream, would you care to go there with me for dessert?” Daitaro asked you.

You weren't entirely sure if he was actually quite dense or if this was a preplanned attack. There was a good chance someone... well, probably your brother, told him to ask you to go for dessert with him.

“I'm really very full. I couldn't possibly think of having dessert today. Perhaps another time?” You smiled and hoped that he wouldn't press the issue.

“Perhaps sometime this week I could pick you up after work, we could go then?” Daitaro's expression didn't change, so you had no idea what he was really thinking.

He didn't pinpoint a day, so you felt okay with giving him a noncommittal, “That sounds like a plan.” You wondered if your father would let you leave now that you'd kind of agreed to a date with Daitaro, but you had too much sense to actually ask. There was no way to ask, 'Can I leave _now_?' without appearing whiny.

By the time you politely escaped from Daitaro, you were running shamefully late for your meeting with Mokuba. You sent him a text while you were in the restaurant so he knew what was going on, but his response said that he would just wait for you at the orphanage. That put you on edge.

Someone like Mokuba just didn't strike you as the sort of person who could be okay on his own at an orphanage. He just didn't seem like the sort of man who would get along with children. The children would probably get on his nerves and you didn't want to have to deal with that.

\-----

At the orphanage you went straight for the offices of the matron in charge. She was who you were supposed to talk you and you figured that if Mokuba was still around he'd be there. She was happy to see you and told you that you could find Mokuba in the courtyard with the children. The affectionate way she said his name made you wonder if he spent some of his time charming her. Was there anyone he wouldn't try to charm?

When you tried to retrieve Mokuba, you were surprised by the events currently going on in the playground.

Two of the children were sitting on the only swings while Mokuba took turns pushing them. He had them swinging in opposite directions so that when one swung up, the other was swinging down. A group of children crowded in something similar to a line next to the swing set and watched.

“Is it my turn yet?” the tiny boy at the front of the line asked plaintively.

“Not yet, the timer hasn't gone off.” Mokuba was smiling, clearly amused rather than annoyed.

The boy opened his mouth, perhaps to protest, but a loud ringing cut him off. His mouth snapped shut before stretching into a grin.

Mokuba pulled out his phone and turned the timer off. Then he stepped between the swings and walked forward so that the two girls could see him. “Time's up!”

"Me first!" one of the girls called out before flinging herself off the swing. 

Your breath caught in your throat at her unexpected action. You stared as she sailed through the air and straight into Mokuba's arms. He swung her around in a circle before putting her down. 

"Your turn!" He turned to face the girl on the second swing, braced to catch her. 

Her swing was slowly losing inertia. It wasn't rocking back and forth as quickly, nor was it going as high, but she clung to it like she was sitting on the top of a high tree. "I'm scared!" 

Mokuba didn't say anything negative and he didn't laugh at her fear. He simply grabbed the chain, forcing the swing almost to a stop, before pulling her into his arms and swinging her around in a circle too.

By the time he put her on the ground, the next two children were already sitting on the swings. The little boy who wanted to know if it was his turn was wiggling from side to side, the grin still firmly plastered on his face. The chains of his swing were beginning to clink against each other. “Swing! Swing! Swing!” he chanted.

Mokuba stopped the boy's swing from twisting around before pulling it back and shoving it forward.

“Whee!!!”

The children were obviously having fun with Mokuba, and he seemed to be good at playing with them. Perhaps you were too quick to make assumptions about him. You had to admit that you were basing some of your knowledge about him on his brother.

Then you had to concede that his brother never would have waited for you in the first place. Mokuba was clearly not Seto in the slightest.

You weren't sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Need some help?” you called out as you crossed over to the swingset.

His pushing didn't falter. “You finally made it!”

Some of the children left the line to run up to you the moment you announced your presence. Soon you were surrounded by tiny bodies as they all tried to give you a hug at once. The children knew you and got excited whenever you came to visit because you always brought candy with you. It was something that your mother always did so you carried on that tradition.

“Hi you guys.” You gave them half-hugs and wrapped your arms around whoever happened to be closest. “Sorry it took me so long,” you called out to Mokuba.

“It's okay.”

It was amazing, but he looked like he actually meant that. He really didn't seem to mind that you were late. Your shock almost caused you to forget why you were there. “Well I'm going to go up to the matron's office now.”

“Awww!” one of the little girls cried. “You aren't going to play with us?”

“I'll play with you later. I promise.” You affectionately ruffled her hair.

“Give me a minute and I'll join you.” Mokuba was still pushing the boys on the swings. It was sweet that he wanted to give them all of their swing time.

“Mokuba's leaving us too? Awww!”

The children were all protesting now and you looked down at their sad faces. “Stop looking like kicked puppies!” You reached into your bag and pulled out some chocolate bars. The children surrounding you were immediately smiling. Even the two boys on the swings jumped down so they could join the crowd asking for chocolate.

You carefully gave everyone a candy bar before removing yourself from the group of children. The chocolate kept them happy while you escaped with Mokuba.

\-----

Having the meeting with Mokuba present ended up being a bad idea. He caused the meeting to take far longer than it would have otherwise. He kept interrupting with questions and you deeply regretted allowing him to come along.

It didn't help that your suspicions about him charming the matron turned out to be completely correct. She entertained all of his questions and smiled affectionately at him the entire time.

If you told Mokuba to stop asking questions, the matron would undoubtedly take his side in any ensuing argument. So you were forced to endure his interruptions to the entire meeting.

At least he had a reason for asking all of his questions. He really was trying to get involved. By the time the two of you were done talking to the matron, Mokuba had a fair idea about the goal of your event.

He waited until the two of you were leaving the orphanage to bring up his final question. “Where are you going to hold the event?”

“I'm not sure yet. I'm still looking into a few places.” You should have picked a location by now. The location was something that you needed to know before you could really begin planning the event. You needed to know what sort of space you would have available and how many guests would be able to attend.

“You need a big space right?” You nodded absentmindedly so he continued, “I think I know where you can hold the event!”

He was excited, so you decided to humor him even though you were fairly sure that he was going to suggest the ballroom of the largest hotel in town. “Where?”

“The Kaiba Dome!”

“Yes, I—what?!” You were caught off guard by his suggestion. The Kaiba Dome was part of their amusement park. It wasn't really appropriate for a formal event.

“Yeah!” Mokuba was grinning from ear to ear. “It's **huge**. We can fit as many people as you want. Plus if we're working together then you can rent it for free!”

Well, he had a point about the size, and free was always good for a charity, but there was one major problem. “I don't think your brother will go along with that.”

“We can always go ask him.” Mokuba made it sound like asking Seto Kaiba if you could use his dome for a charity event was the simplest thing in the world.

But you weren't about to pretend that you were too proud to jump at the chance to see him. You weren't too proud for anything that concerned Kaiba. “We could ask. I'm not sure how to convince him.” You had a few ideas but you didn't know if any of them would work.

Mokuba put a hand on your shoulder. “Just leave that to me.” He grinned. “I'll call you with the details later.”

Wait a second... did that mean that Mokuba wasn't going to invite you along to see his brother? No no no. You needed to find a way to go with him. “Don't you want me to join you? If your brother has any questions it'll be easier if I'm there to answer them don't you think?” It was difficult to stop yourself from sounding frantic.

Mokuba considered your words and you were worried that he would disagree. “You've got a point.” You tried not to cheer. “Do you have time right now?”

You nodded, at a loss for words. You always had time for Seto Kaiba.

\-----

This was your first time in his office. You often imagined what it would look like and how it would reflect his personality. It occasionally was the backdrop of your daydreams about him. His office wasn't anything like how you imagined it would look.

You imagined that there would be Blue Eyes decorating the room. Sometimes you imagined shelves of books decorating the walls. On other occasions, usually after your father mentioned Kaiba's work ethic, you would imagine a bed and closet.

Now that you had a chance to see how his office really looked, you were doing your best to memorize every single detail. You wanted to be able to mentally reproduce it later. It wouldn't be very hard to remember everything. His office was sparsely decorated. He had a massive desk of course, and chairs in front of it for any visitors. Other than that the only other furniture in the room were the couches off to the side. They were both facing a large, widescreen TV that was mounted on the wall and you wondered if he watched TV as he worked. Did he take naps on those couches in the middle of the day? Maybe he slept on them at night. The walls of the room were undecorated, but that wasn't too surprising considering how little wall space there actually was in his office. The longest 'wall' in his office, the one directly across from the doors and right behind him, was actually a massive window. It provided all of the light in the room. You couldn't see much more than the sky from your angle, but you imagined that Kaiba could see the entire city if he just looked down.

Now that was accurate, and the only detail that made sense to you. Not that there were very many details in his office in the first place.

By the time you allowed yourself to study Kaiba, he was already studying you. He seemed to be wondering what you were doing in his office. He looked annoyed, but you weren't positive that you were reading him accurately. It would make sense for him to be annoyed. You were in his office without an invite. Mokuba's presence was probably the only thing stopping him from kicking you out. Well, Mokuba's presence and your father's influence. Without Mokuba you wouldn't be kicked out, but he would probably find a way to have you gently escorted away.

You were the focal point of his stare, and you had so much that you wanted to say to him. None of it was related to the charity. So you maintained your composure and good sense and kept your mouth shut. Kaiba was looking at you, but that didn't mean he would listen to you.

“Hello, Mr. Kaiba.” Okay, you were going to shut up now. Really. Unless he said something back to you of course, then it would only be polite to respond. If that led to a conversation...

“I presume you have a reason for coming here Mokuba.” Kaiba's voice cut through your internal musing and broke your daydream into pieces before it could begin.

Mokuba launched into an explanation of his day so far, telling his brother everything he'd learned about your charity. It was probably useless information for Kaiba. Kaiba Corp. was your biggest donor year after year. Orphans seemed to be their special interest as well.

Mokuba was sitting in one of the chairs across from Kaiba's desk, but you were still standing awkwardly near the door. While Mokuba was talking, you decided to finally cross Kaiba's office. You tried not to hurry, even though you were secretly delighted at the prospect of walking toward Kaiba.

As you sat down in the chair next to Mokuba's, Kaiba shot you a glare. It seemed to point out that nobody had invited you to sit down. He seemed to be questioning why you would sit where you weren't wanted.

The glare was fleeting, only a momentary stab before his attention was back on Mokuba. It hurt but you stayed seated. You tried to focus on what Mokuba was saying so you could keep your mind off of Kaiba's attitude, but it didn't work.

Your excitement dissolved under the force of Kaiba's annoyance and now you were uncomfortable. Mokuba either wasn't picking up on the tension or he was completely ignoring it. He still seemed to be excited about the idea of using the Kaiba Dome for a charity event.

Mokuba finished his pitch and the two of you stared at Kaiba expectantly.

“Fine.”

You weren't the only one shocked when Kaiba agreed to Mokuba's plan. “Seriously?!” Mokuba shouted.

“As long as I don't need to get involved, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't get involved with a charity.” Kaiba shot you a pointed glare. “It might even be beneficial.”

“YES!” Mokuba fist pumped. “Thank you, Seto!”

Kaiba waved his hand dismissively. “Just don't try to get me involved in any of the planning. I'm too busy as it is.”

“I won't.” Mokuba turned to you. “Let's go celebrate!”

You followed him out of the room, but before you left, you turned back to Kaiba. He wasn't looking at you like you hoped. “Thank you,” you finally said.

He didn't bother looking up. “I didn't do it for you.” His words slammed into your chest. They weren't unexpected, but that didn't make them any easier to hear.

“I know.” You bit your lip, still standing in the doorway. Kaiba was very direct about not wanting to be involved with anymore of the charity's organization. You probably wouldn't see him again for a while. “Goodbye. I hope I'll see you at the charity ball.”

“Don't be ridiculous.”

He made an appearance at the charity ball every single year, ever since his takeover as Kaiba Corp's CEO. So of course he would be there, and you would see him, but you really wanted to know if he would actually talk to you this year.

The answer to that was a pretty obvious no.

“What's taking you so long?” Mokuba reappeared by your side and grabbed your hand. “C'mon!”

As he tugged you out, you couldn't resist looking back at Kaiba. All you wanted was for him to finally give you a chance. Maybe you weren't good enough for him, or maybe you just weren't his type, but he couldn't know that if he didn't ever pay any attention to you.

Mokuba asked you if there was anywhere you wanted to go to celebrate and your attention was back on him. It was true that you would get more of Kaiba's attention if you spent more time with Mokuba. Maybe you could—

NO! You weren't going to use Mokuba. You weren't a horrible woman. You weren't that desperate... were you?

You couldn't be sure. Maybe you were using Mokuba now and just in denial.

“I think I'd like to just go home.”

Mokuba's grin slid off his face. “What? Why? Can't we at least stop for ice cream?”

He looked so sad that you couldn't say no. “Sure, ice cream sounds like fun.”

You weren't using Mokuba if you genuinely liked him, and you did like him. You honestly believed that he would be a fun friend to have. “Why don't we call Katsu and have him meet us there?”

Mokuba was your new friend, and that had nothing to do with his brother.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a little concerned about parts of this chapter feeling melodramatic. This reader character is just so emotional. She is going to grow up little by little, but for right now I feel like I'm walking a thin line. I want her emotions to be over the top, because they are (teenagers are super emotional at times), but I don't want it to feel artificial or melodramatic you know? 
> 
> But there is a reason why I ended up writing that fluff for The Art of Living to give myself a break from this chapter. 
> 
> In a lot of ways this is turning into a tale about growing up and finding who you are. I think that Kaiba's interest in her is very much going to have a negative relationship with her interest in him. The less she likes him, the more he's going to like her. Oh poor reader. I don't understand why Kaiba works that way either. xD
> 
> Uh, enjoy?

The charity ball was going to happen in only a matter of days. It was all falling into place nicely and you were confident that it would be a success. Now that you didn't have to focus all of your attention on it, your mind was free to roam around and think about other matters.

Even the unpleasant things like the upcoming end to the school year and your days in high school. You didn't know what you were going to do with yourself after you were done with school. All of your friends were getting engaged and would be married, but you didn't really have any plans. Until recently you never thought about it.

Now you were thinking about it, and your lack of plans made you uneasy.

You tried to focus on the pieces of jewelry in front of you. Right now you should be picking out something to wear with your dress, but you just didn't care. The jewelry that you wore to the charity event wouldn't matter. It would sparkle while you were doing your best to sparkle, but after the night was over nobody would recall what you had around your neck.

Katsu nudged you with his shoulder. “What's bothering you?”

“Nothing.” You knew he wouldn't believe you, but you didn't want to talk about it. “I don't really care for anything we've seen so far.”

Those were the wrong words. The employee helping the two of you instantly became anxious. “Perhaps you have something specific in mind? Are you sure that you don't want to look at our black pearls? We just got a shipment of some lovely gold jewelry.”

Katsu took over for you. “Thank you, but no. We'll just be leaving now.” He linked his arm with yours and walked out of the little store with you.

Out on the street the noise from the cars and pedestrians made it a little easier to concentrate on what was going on. “What am I doing?” you asked Katsu.

“I was about to ask that myself. You didn't look at a single piece in that store did you?” Katsu's tone was light and joking.

“I just couldn't concentrate,” you said, more to yourself than Katsu. “What's the point of it?”

“So you can look shiny and pretty at the ball!”

Despite his joke, Katsu seemed to sense that the street wasn't a good place for this conversation and began leading you toward where he was parked. The walk to his car was quick but silent. It was quiet even once the two of you were sitting in your seats with the doors closed.

Katsu turned his radio off the moment he started his car. He pulled away from the curb and into the downtown traffic.

“Is everything okay?”

You could tell that he was uncomfortable. Being serious wasn't something that Katsu had much experience with. If he couldn't crack a joke he was completely out of his element.

“What are you doing after high school, Katsu?”

He frowned. “Going to college so my parents don't kill me. You know that.”

“Yeah. I do.” You stared out the window at the people on the street. Business suits. School uniforms. Green heels. Bottled blonde hair. Bags with pictures. They all seemed to be going somewhere. “I don't know what I'm going to do. I always thought that I'd end up getting married like the rest of the girls. Even though I know it's unrealistic I always wanted to end up with Kaiba, and I spent my entire life trying to be perfect for that. I study so that I'll be smart enough. I take care of my body so I'll be pretty enough. I've worked on being an asset for him.” You could feel your throat clenching, and your eyes were beginning to water. “I've always known that I couldn't have him, but now that I'm reaching that point in my life where I actually have to start thinking about what I can have, I don't know.” You choked out your exhale. “I don't know.” You rubbed your eyes. You really didn't want to start crying.

“Oh _Kitten_. You know there's a list of men who would love to take you out on a date.”

You shook your head even though you knew Katsu's eyes were focused on the road and not you. “I don't know if I want that. I mean, if I really think about getting married it just doesn't appeal to me. I mean the girls seem so happy, and I want to be happy, but thinking about all the men I know, it just seems wrong. None of them make me happy.” You laughed, but it turned into a gasp for air. “Kaiba definitely doesn't make me happy. Oh God does he make me unhappy.”

Katsu drove out of the city and onto a street that wasn't as busy. You knew that you were making him uncomfortable right now, and that made you feel even worse, but you couldn't stop now. The words just continued to spill out.

“Shou has it so easy. He was always going to be daddy's heir. He's just so good at dealing with all that boring business stuff, and I hate it. His future was just given to him on a silver platter, and I have to search for mine. It's just so unfair!” Unable to restrain yourself, you began to sob.

Katsu pulled over into a secluded area and stopped his car. He pulled off his seat buckle and yours before pulling you over to him for a hug. “It's okay, Kitten.” He rubbed your back, and you just let yourself cry into his shirt.

The two of you sat like that. He just continued to rub your back until you were finished crying. By the time you were done your eyes were dry and they burned.

“I'm sorry,” you whispered as you pulled away from him.

He grabbed your hand and looked directly at you. “Never be sorry for how you feel.”

Your lips turned up at the edge. It was nice to have someone just sit with you while you had a meltdown. “I've been thinking about this too much lately.”

He squeezed your hand. “You should take classes at the college. See if there's anything you like, maybe date a few college hotties.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and you laughed.

He had a good point. “I think I will.”

“Good, you need a decent man.”

You playfully shoved him. “Not that! I'm going to sign up for some classes.” You rolled your eyes.

It would be nice to have something to do. Looking at college classes and seeing what was interesting might be just what you needed. Maybe you could get a fresh start and try to move on from Seto Kaiba.

Katsu insisted on stopping by the local college and picking up a course catalogue for you.

\-----

The next day you ended up at the Kaiba Mansion so that you could look over Mokuba's outfit for the event. He had his own stylist, you were sure, and he was just wearing a basic suit so you didn't know why he needed your opinion but he asked and you couldn't think of a reason to turn him down.

Getting through the security gate was simple now that all the guards knew you. Kaiba was almost never home, so you sometimes worked with Mokuba at his house instead of yours. You pulled your car up near the front door. A maid opened the door before you even reached it and stood aside to let you into the mansion.

“Young Master Kaiba is in his room,” she informed you as you entered.

“Thank you.” You knew where Mokuba's room was by now. His mansion was bigger than your place but still not so large that it was difficult to navigate.

All your thoughts about the Kaiba Mansion flew out of your head when you encountered Seto Kaiba in the hallway.

“Seto!” you exclaimed. He glared at you, and you immediately realized your mistake. “Kaiba! I, uh, didn't expect to see you. I mean, good afternoon!” Seeing him was a surprise, and you weren't sure if it was a good one or a bad one. You could feel your heart slam against your rib cage as you stared at the magnificent man in front of you.

He had nothing but a scowl for you. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm here to see Mokuba.” You kept the smile on your face. It was always a good idea to be polite to people. Even rude men who you loved but really wanted to hate.

Your life would be so much easier if you hated him.

He humphed at your response and shoved past you to continue on down the hall.

“Hey Kaiba, if you could take anything, what college classes would you take?” It was a perfectly innocent inquiry. There were so many options that you just wanted some suggestions.

He stopped and looked back at you. “That's a stupid question.”

At least he was acknowledging your question. You actually assumed that he would ignore you. “I was just curious. There are so many options that I'm not even sure what to start with. I'm thinking Sociology because it'll help with the PR, and I want to take another foreign language but I can't decide which. There's just so many classes to choose from!” You had to admit that you were excited.

Kaiba seemed to be appraising you. “Maybe you aren't as dumb as I thought.” He turned away and continued his journey down the hall.

“Thank you! I think,” you called out after him, but he simply ignored you. Humming, you continued your journey to Mokuba's room.

“Did you run into Seto?” Mokuba asked when you walked in.

“Yep!” You were grinning, and you just felt like skipping.

Mokuba's eyebrows both shot up. “And you're still in a good mood?”

Unlike a lot of your friends, Mokuba never said anything negative about your crush on his older brother. Mokuba loved Seto, so he could kind of see why you would have a crush on him. At the same time, Mokuba didn't pretend that you had any sort of chance with his older brother. He was brutally honest about your chances with Seto.

“He said I wasn't as dumb as he thought.” You knew Mokuba would understand why that was a big deal.

“Huh. He must be in a good mood.” Mokuba began pulling clothes out of his closet. “I think Pegasus called him with some sort of deal.” He held up a suit. “I was thinking about wearing this.”

You shrugged. “That's fine. It's just a basic suit.” Then you added, pretending it was an afterthought, “Pegasus, as in Industrial Illusions Pegasus?”

“It would suck if there was more than one Pegasus.” Mokuba laughed. “So yeah, that's the one. I kind of wanted your help deciding what tie I should wear. Do you think we should match?”

“Well, Katsu is already going to match with me, but I don't think he'll mind if you match too. Let me see your ties.” You got up and crossed over to the closet to see what colors Mokuba had. “Do you think Kaiba would introduce my father to Pegasus? I know he wants to branch out into the American market.”

“I doubt it. He's still angry about not getting exclusivity.”

You frowned. It figured. “Well, you don't have any bright pink ties. We'll have to buy you one.” You stepped away from his closet.

“Wait? Pink?!” Mokuba was not amused. “I hope you're joking.”

“Nope.” You leaned toward him. “I'm wearing a hot pink dress. Katsu won a bet so he got to choose the color.”

Mokuba grinned. “Well I guess I can't back out now. Let's go buy a pink tie.”

“It's okay. We don't need to match.”

“No!” Mokuba sighed dramatically. “It would be improper for me to refuse to match such a fine lady such as yourself.”

You just stared at him. “I think you've been spending a little too much time with Katsu.” You grinned. “So should I drive or do you want to?”

“Oh no. I'm not letting you drive.” Mokuba grabbed his keys.

You pouted. “Is this about that red light because—”

“Of course not!” He was so lying. “I just like people to see me driving around a beautiful girl.” He winked.

“Yeah sure.” You let him drive despite his obvious lie. It was nice flattery even if it wasn't the truth.

\-----

The Nomiya Annual Ball was a complete success. The moment that the Kaiba name became attached to it was the moment it became even more of a topic of conversation. People talked about it and everyone was fascinated by the fact that Mokuba Kaiba was helping you.

Tickets were completely sold out, and everyone actually showed up for the event. Even Kaiba was here somewhere. Of course, he was only present to support his little brother and possibly to ensure that you didn't destroy his Kaiba Dome, but it was very good publicity to have Seto Kaiba present. He attended events so rarely that it was a bragging point to get him to come to something you hosted.

Both you and Mokuba were in high demand. People wanted to congratulate you and talk to you about the event, and at some point, the two of you inevitably separated. Katsu stuck by your side for a while to give you moral support (and to whisper sarcastic commentary into your ears) but he eventually got bored and wandered off somewhere.

Your feet eventually got tired, and you had to retreat to your seat at your table. It was crazy how many people wanted to congratulate you tonight. Your father and brother both agreed that the event was a complete success, and they were already talking business with quite a few people.

A man slid into the seat next to you, and you were startled by his unfamiliar face.

His bright green eyes met yours with ease. His smile was sheer arrogance, and you wanted to know who this strange man was.

“Do you know how much I had to donate to get a seat in the same vicinity as you?” His question was casual, but it was clear he assumed you would know his name. Arrogance at its very finest.

You smiled. You knew the price range for all the seats very well. If you knew where he was seated then you would know exactly how much he paid to get in. “I will when you tell me your name.”

“You don't know who I am? My life is incomplete!” He held out a hand and grinned at you. “You're looking at Duke Devlin.”

The name sounded vaguely familiar, but you weren't going to offend him further by letting him know that you still didn't really know who he was. You grasped his hand and shook it. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Duke.”

He surprised you by bringing your hand up to his lips and kissing it. “The pleasure is all mine.”

“How are you enjoying the event?” you politely inquired. He didn't release your hand, and you were forced to pull it away and grab a glass so that it wasn't obvious that you didn't want him holding your hand. It was nothing personal, you just didn't want any photos popping up of you holding a strange man's hand.

“Much more now that I have the opportunity to talk to you.” He leaned toward you, and you noticed that he had dice dangling from his ear. It was interesting. Now you were really curious about him.

After this, you were going to hunt down Katsu. He would be able to tell you something about Duke Devlin.

“Did you have something you wanted to discuss with me?” you asked, trying not to get distracted by his dangling dice.

“Yeah. I noticed all that positive publicity that Seto Kaiba got just by being seen with you. I need a little bit of help with my public image.” He took out a business card and passed it to you. “Please promise you'll give me a call tomorrow?”

You were surprised by his request. “I don't do, uh, I don't really offer any public image services.” You weren't a PR rep. At least, you weren't one yet. 

Duke's green eyes seemed to concentrate on someone behind you, and he frowned. “I know, but I think we can come to an agreement. Just give me a call; that's all I ask.” He took your hand and kissed it once more. “We'll talk about what I have to offer you, and you can consider meeting me.” He stood. “You're a gorgeous woman, try not to waste too much of your night with someone who can't see that.”

He left you puzzled with his parting words until Kaiba made an appearance by your side.

“What is _Devlin_ doing here?”

No wonder Duke just ran off on you like that. Kaiba knew who he was and didn't seem to like him. That wasn't a good sign. If Kaiba disliked you more than the average person, you might avoid him too.

“I assume he paid a donation to get in just like everyone else here.” You studied Kaiba's face. “Do you know who he is?”

Kaiba looked down at you, surprised by your question, before he looked away again. “Nobody important.”

Well, that didn't tell you anything significant. Seto Kaiba didn't think _anyone_ was important. You would have to ask Katsu or maybe Mokuba. You weren't about to press the issue with Kaiba. He wouldn't tell you anything.

“Would you like to dance?” you asked Kaiba.

He scoffed. “And risk another scene? I'm not an idiot.” Then he turned and walked off without another word.

Oh well, at least you asked right?

Katsu was easy enough to locate thanks to his brightly dyed hair. You subtly pulled him aside. “Have you heard of a Duke Devlin?”

Katsu made a face. “Eh. He's kind of boring. Heir of some minor chain of game shops. He has a bad reputation for doing something rude to some King of Games. Why?”

You knew you could rely on Katsu. “Uh, he just approached me and gave me his number?”

“Huh. That was bold.” Katsu looked around. “Where is he? Is he attractive?”

You glanced around, but you didn't see Duke anywhere. “I think you might like him. He's wearing a dangling dice earring.”

“Sounds interesting.” Katsu grinned. “I think I might go hunt him down. Oh, and Kitten? Mokuba was looking for you.”

That was odd. You wondered why Kaiba hadn't mentioned that. Maybe he didn't know? Well Mokuba would be much harder to find than Katsu. Mokuba usually ended up swarmed by women and men too scared to approach his older brother. So you just continued to socialize, assuming that Mokuba would find you if he really needed to.

You were wearing a bright pink dress after all.

“May I have this dance?” You turned to find Mokuba behind you with his hand outstretched.

“Are you serious or just joking?” He and Katsu really were two peas and a pod. Sometimes you didn't know if you should take them seriously.

“I'm serious, unless you say no. Then I never wanted to dance with you anyway.” Mokuba's grin was charming.

“Sure.” You took his hand. _Why not?_ Everyone knew that the two of you worked together on the event so it was logical that you would share at least one dance.

Mokuba wasn't quite as good at dancing as his brother, but he kept whispering jokes about various guests into your ear so you spent the entire time laughing. You almost tripped over your own feet a few times because you were laughing so hard. It was a fun dance, even if Mokuba didn't make you feel like a princess gliding across the floor.

It was wrong to compare the two. Mokuba and Kaiba were brothers, but they were nothing alike. Mokuba was fun and easy to be around. He was rougher around the edges but charming. Kaiba was regal and reeked of power. He was all elegance when he danced.

You wondered what would have happened if Mokuba had been the first Kaiba that you met. What if Kaiba had sent Mokuba to make friends with you in his place? Would you still have ended up adoring Kaiba so much? Or would you have found yourself drawn to Mokuba?

Just thinking about it made your head hurt. It was pure speculation. Mokuba made you laugh, but Kaiba made your heart accelerate and your stomach clench.

Mokuba made a joke about another guest, and you started laughing once more. This time, Mokuba took advantage of your distraction to spin you in a circle. You trusted him, and he led you astray. You ended up crashing into someone.

“I'm sorry,” you said, stepping back.

At the same moment, Mokuba said, “Your turn big brother.”

Your eyes shot up as you realized that Mokuba basically just shoved you into Kaiba.

“I don't dance.” Kaiba wasn't looking at you. He seemed to be too involved with staring down his younger brother.

“Of course you do, Seto. You just don't dance **well** , but it's okay, she already knows what boring company you are.” Mokuba slapped Kaiba's shoulder.

Kaiba refused to take the bait. He didn't even spare you a glance before turning his back on you and Mokuba.

“Well, I tried.” Mokuba shrugged. “Sorry about him.”

“It's okay.” You watched Kaiba's retreating figure. You really did need to get over him. Maybe you would give Duke a call tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Thank the lovely Prophet Lexicon for beta reading this for me~ (Also blame her for mistakes. ;D) She told me when I was being awkward and stupid.  
>   
> 2) This chapter did not go at all where I expected. I think you guys will still like it. (I hope.)  
>   
> 3) Duke will be back next chapter. Promise.  
>   
> 4) Eventually you guys will have to choose between Mokuba Kaiba and Seto Kaiba. Not yet, but just know that a decision will have to be made eventually. So far, based on feedback from the other site this is on, Mokuba is winning.  
>   
> 5) Enjoy~

Duke Devlin had made enough of an impression on you that you remembered your interaction with him. So you considered calling him the next day. Except, he wasn't quite interesting enough for you to call him without doing your research first. As a representative of your father's company, there were certain people that you shouldn't be seen with.

Last night was a long night for you, and this morning you slept in more than you normally did, but you didn't doubt that Katsu was probably still asleep in the middle of the day. He was a night owl, and absolutely did not get up earlier than noon if he could help it. You were on your own.

The internet was your best friend when situations like this arose. It was easy enough to enter “Duke Devlin” into the search engine.

His Wikipedia page was the first result, which told you that he was popular enough to have a Wikipedia page. You clicked on the page.

_Duke Devlin is the creator of the game Dungeon Dice Monsters and current owner of the Black Clown game shops._

You were somewhat familiar with the Black Clown chain of shops. There were only a few shops in the chain, and they were only located in Japan, but it seemed to be decently successful. Since your father's company dealt more in the hardware aspect of technology, his company had no reason to deal with gaming shops, and you didn't really keep up on them.

You continued to read the article. It discussed the creation of Dungeon Dice Monsters, noting that Duke was friends with Pegasus Crawford, before launching into a detailed description of the time he challenged Yugi Muto. Apparently, Duke had forced the guy into a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters, which he then proceeded to lose.

This section of Duke's page was the longest page by far. It also seemed to contain a lot of speculation. Of course a lot of it was presented as undeniable fact, such as, “Duke blackmailed Yugi into playing Dungeon Dice Monsters with him by threatening one of Yugi's friends,” but all of the citations were from noted gossip magazines. As someone who was regularly talked about in those magazines, you were more than a little skeptical of the “facts” on Duke's page.

The only real red flag was the fact that he had inherited the chain of stores from his father after his father was arrested for an unknown crime. That was never a good sign. In the business world, people learned about the law from their parents. Some businessmen saw the law as an obstacle that should be treated with care but ultimately ignored, while others saw it as something that only got in the way sometimes. You wanted to know what his father went to jail for.

It would be much easier if Katsu were awake. He would know, and if he didn't know, he would be able to find out much faster than you could. You grabbed your cell and sent him a quick text asking him to call you when he woke up. Hopefully he'd check his phone.

You were surprised when your phone rang a moment later. It was Katsu. As you answered the phone, you looked at the time. It was almost eleven. Katsu really shouldn't be awake. “Hello?”

“I'm already awake. What do you want?” He sounded like he'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

“Oh. I'm looking up information about Duke Devlin. I'm thinking of calling him—”

“OH!” Katsu was instantly in a better mood. “You're finally interested in a _boy!_ You're growing up at last. My little girl is becoming a woman!”

You just rolled your eyes. “I am not _interested_. He said he had a business proposal for me, and I want to know if he's worth calling.” As if you would move on from an attractive man like Kaiba to a flirt like Duke.

“If his proposal is a good romp in the sheets, you should definitely take the man up on that.”

“ _Katsu._ ” You all but growled his name.

“Fine, fine. I'll see what I can find and come over in about an hour? Go put something pretty on.”

True to his word, Katsu arrived at your place a little over an hour later. He was armed to the teeth with every single piece of information he could find on Duke Devlin. Of course he refused to tell you any of the information until you changed into something _pretty_. Sometimes you couldn't remember why you were friends with him.

“Is this acceptable?” you asked once you were in the dress he pulled out of your closet.

“Perfect!” Katsu grabbed your arm. “Let's go!”

“Wait a minute. Where are you dragging me?” Your protests and questions fell on deaf ears as Katsu pulled you out of your own house. He wasn't dragging you, but you did try, and fail, to break free of his grip on your arm.

Once the two of you were outside, he pulled open the door of his car and motioned for you to sit down.

You just stared at him. Katsu might be your best friend, but that did not make him trustworthy. Until you were sure that he wasn't about to drag you out for a makeover or something equally ridiculous, you weren't getting into his car. “Where are we going?”

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” he whined. “Can't it be a surprise?”

You just raised an eyebrow. Did he really want you to recount all the times that he dragged you on a wild “adventure”?

“It's a **good** surprise!”

You were unconvinced. “You always say that.”

“Oh just get in the car, Kitten.”

After yesterday, you were feeling especially tired and not in the mood for a terrible surprise. “Katsu.”

He huffed, annoyed that you wouldn't just get in his car. “We're going to a new art exhibit downtown.” Then he stuck his tongue out at you before turning and walking around the car to the driver's side. “Honestly! It's not like I drag you out to strip bars or anything.”

“Not for lack of trying,” you muttered as you got into his car. You hoped he wasn't lying about the art exhibit. Katsu wasn't a liar, but he was also willing to say whatever would help him get his way. “So whose exhibit is it?” you asked as Katsu started his car.

“Dunno. Some guy who does paintings... or maybe sculptures. Mokuba was talking about it, and I thought you might like it.”

“If you don't even know what's at the exhibit, how do you know I'll like it?”

“You like artsy stuff. Mokuba likes artsy stuff. Mokuba enjoyed the exhibition. You probably will too.” He reached over and turned up the volume on his radio.

You simply rolled your eyes. You didn't have that much in common with Mokuba. Sure, you liked most of the artwork in the Kaiba Mansion, but Mokuba wasn't the one who had picked any of that out. You weren't even sure that Kaiba had picked any of it out. He probably had a professional decorator who handled that sort of stuff.

Katsu's loud music made conversation practically impossible, so you simply stared out the window as he drove through the streets of Domino. People walked around on the sidewalks, and you observed them without actually paying any attention to them.

“Why don't they have valet parking?” Katsu complained once he pulled up in front of the Domino Convention Center.

You stared at the packed parking lot. “Is this where they're holding the exhibition?”

“Yep!” He began to speed around the parking lot, searching for a space. As he looked, he reached over and pressed a button on his car's dashboard. “Mokuba Kaiba.”

Not understanding what he was doing, you simply stared at Katsu. Then an automated voice said, “Now calling Mokuba Kaiba.” Katsu's loud music was replaced by the ringing of a phone.

The second ring was cut off, and Mokuba's voice filled the car. “Hey, where are you?”

“We're in the parking lot!” Katsu wasn't yelling, but he was definitely loud. “I can't find a single... WAIT! Oh, nope. Motorcycle. Hate those. Ugh...”

“Katsu?” Mokuba sounded confused.

“Right! We're in the parking lot. We'll be inside once I find somewhere to park. They really need valet parking. Can you believe they don't have it available? Honestly—”

Mokuba cut off Katsu before he went into full-blown rant mode. “So you convinced her to come out?”

“Yeah, she's listening to the conversation now.” Katsu reached over and lightly hit your arm. “Say hi!”

You jumped, surprised at the sudden inclusion. “Oh, um, hi?”

Mokuba shouted your name, and he seemed happy to hear that you were in the car. “Okay. I'll meet you both in front of the building okay?”

You didn't know what to say. So you sat back and let Katsu respond to the question. He and Mokuba said their goodbyes before hanging up.

“Why can't I find somewhere to paaaaaaaark?” Katsu whined the moment he hung up with Mokuba. Then he began to repeat his complaint about the lack of valet parking.

You considered opening the car door and just jumping out. Hopefully Katsu would find somewhere to park so you wouldn't have to listen to him rant and rave for the rest of the day.

Eventually Katsu found somewhere to leave his car. It wasn't _technically_ a parking spot, but it wasn't a no-parking zone either so you didn't comment on his choice.

Mokuba was standing in front of the Convention Center, just like he said he would be, and he scowled at Katsu the moment he noticed the two of you. “You called me fifteen minutes ago!” he yelled as the two of you approached him.

“It's not my fault I had to find parking!” Katsu shouted back, even though the two of you were already close to Mokuba. “Honestly. What kind of place doesn't offer valet?!”

You just rolled your eyes. You really didn't need to hear the rant all over again. “Katsu?”

“Hm?” Katsu gave you his attention.

“I love you, but shut up.”

Mokuba laughed, and Katsu began to whine about how mean you were. It was the expected reaction. Telling him to shut up wouldn't hurt his feelings, and it would give him something new to fixate on.

You ignored Katsu's complaints and turned to Mokuba. “Are you here to look at artwork?”

“Ah, Katsu didn't tell you?”

“You're ignoring me!” Katsu's voice began to rise in pitch. “Why are you ignoring meeeeee?”

You shook your head and continued to ignore Katsu. “No. He just made me get into his car. I don't really know what's going on.”

“Oh, well, I'm buying some artwork and photographs today. I have a few options that I picked out a few days ago, but I didn't have time to decide if I wanted to buy them or not. Do you want to see?”

“Yeah. Sounds like fun!”

Katsu huffed. “Fine, ignore me! See if I give you any more information about Duke Devlin or any other hot guys.”

You smiled at Katsu. “That's okay. I know how to use Google.”

“No fair.” He pouted.

“What's this about Duke Devlin?” Mokuba interjected.

“He asked Kitten out on a date~”

“He did not!” you protested. “He wants to talk _business_ with me.”

“Oh, I think we all know what kind of business he wants to talk~”

You just growled at Katsu. He was ridiculous. Knowing that you couldn't win, you simply forfeited. “I'm going inside.”

The boys followed you into the building. Neither Katsu nor Mokuba tried to talk to you. Mokuba asked Katsu to explain what was going on with Duke Devlin, and Katsu simply launched into the beginning of a story that sounded suspiciously like Romeo and Juliet.

You finally had to slow down so you could join the boys and interrupt Katsu’s story. “Katsu, when, exactly, did my family begin a century-long feud with the Devlin family?”

“Centuries ago, obviously.” Katsu rolled his eyes. “Now, as I was saying, Duke knew that it was love from the moment that he saw her. Her lovely eyes, her sweet voice, her silky hair—”

You scoffed. “I don’t have a sweet voice or silky hair.”

“He noticed the way birds fell silent whenever she spoke, as if her voice shamed them.” Apparently your interruption had encouraged him. “Duke longed to kiss those lips! But alas!”

“Did you seriously just say alas?”

“ALAS! There were too many people around, and she knew not who he was! So Duke approached the lovely creature.”

“I’m a creature now? Great. Thanks.”

Mokuba laughed, and you looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. He simply shrugged.

Katsu ignored both of you and continued his tale. “Duke talked to her, and he almost fainted with joy when she smiled at him! Sadly, his happiness would not last. A dark shadow loomed over the two of them. It was the evil Seto Kaiba! ‘Why are you talking to my woman?’ he asked.”

“Really?” You covered your face with your hands. “That is not what happened at all.”

“Duke knew how powerful Kaiba the Evil Mastermind was, and he knew that he could not challenge him for the fair lady… yet. Duke knew all about the spell that Kaiba had cast upon the lovely princess. A spell that would—”

You didn’t want to hear about the spell. “Oh my God! Look, Katsu!” You pointed to the side.

“What? What?” He spun around in a circle, looking through the crowd for whatever had caught your interest.

You just grabbed Mokuba’s arm and began to pull him away from Katsu. “I should have stopped him at the beginning. He gets too carried away when he tells stories.”

“No. It was amusing. I’m sure none of it was actually true, but it was still funny.” Mokuba had a wide grin stretched across his face. He shook your hand off his arm so that he could grab it with his own hand. “C’mon. There’s some art I want to show you.” Then, as if it were an afterthought, he asked, “You are going to tell me the real story later, right?”

“There’s really no story.” You kept pace with Mokuba as he led you past the various types of artwork.

Mokuba stopped walking. “There’s always a story.”

You just stared at him for a moment, unsure what he was implying. Then you noticed the photograph that was hanging right behind him, and you completely forgot about the conversation.

It was a photograph of the Kaiba Corp. building. The photograph was taller than you were, taller than Mokuba even, and it seemed to loom over you as you walked toward it. The sky in the background of the photo was dark, and you could only see a few stars, but the sky wasn't the focus of the shot. There was a building in the center of the shot. Since it was a nighttime photo, the dark building seemed to fade into the dark sky.

With the exception of the top floor. The entire top floor was completely lit up, and if you looked at the details, you could almost see someone sitting at a desk through the top floor's windows. You lifted your hand, your fingers reaching for the brightly lit floor, but your hand stopped short of the photograph's frame. Touching the photograph was probably not allowed. Instead, you turned back toward Mokuba. “Is that?”

He knew what you were asking. “I think so. What do you think? I'm considering buying it for our entryway.”

Honestly, you thought it was a shame that Mokuba wanted to buy it. It was... well, you wanted it too. Not that you had anywhere to put it. It might fit in your room, the ceiling was higher than a normal bedroom, but it would still look too big. Plus your brother would hate it. Shouhei would never let anything Kaiba related into the house without throwing a fit. “You should buy it.” If you couldn't have it, then you could see it at the Kaiba Mansion.

Then something occurred to you. “Will your brother be okay with you putting this up?” you asked Mokuba. “Do you have to ask him first?”

“Nah.” Now he was looking at the artist's information. “Seto isn't home very often so he lets me do whatever I want. You should have seen the mansion before I started changing stuff. Blue Eyes White Dragons were everywhere.” Mokuba turned back toward you and grabbed your hand. “C'mon. There was a painting I wanted you to see.”

He dragged you away from the picture, but you glanced back at it as you walked behind him. It really was a nice photo.

The convention center was fairly large, and the two of you wove through a lot of people as Mokuba led you to the picture. It shouldn’t have surprised you when two girls ran over, screaming Mokuba’s name.

“Mokuba, oh my god! I absolutely love you! Will you take a picture with us? Please?”

He smiled at the girls, even though one of them seemed ready to start crying. “No problem. How could I say no to such lovely ladies?”

You almost scoffed but refrained. You didn’t want to offend these girls and then have them complain about you to a newspaper. So you kept your smile firmly in place, even after one of the girls shoved her phone at you, pointedly glared at the way you were holding hands with Mokuba, and asked you to take the picture. You agreed to take the picture, and you even did your best to take a good picture for them. When the girl told you to take a second picture, just in case, you did so.

Then you tried to hand her phone back to her. “See how they look.”

“I’m sure the picture looks great with Mokuba in it!” purred one of the girls. Both girls ignored you and simply clung to Mokuba. The way they both pressed their chests against his side was more than a little obvious.

It was a shame Katsu had wandered off somewhere. He would have had the best sarcastic comments for this situation. “Well, if you’ll excuse me…” You shoved the phone down its owner’s shirt and walked off. The girl squealed before muttering something that you couldn’t quite hear.

Mokuba’s voice, on the other hand, was easy to hear. “Oh. I’m sorry ladies, but I’d feel rude if I let my date walk off. I’d love to see you again sometime!” You weren’t sure how he got away with some of the things he said. He was almost asking for them to stalk him.

He quickly caught up with you.

“So I’m your date now?” you teased.

You expected him to respond to your comment and joke around with you. When he stayed silent, you were concerned. You glanced over, studying his face, and noted that he seemed to be thinking about something. Maybe one of those girls had said something to him?

So you took your teasing in a different direction. “I just can’t go anywhere with you. Girls mob you at every corner!”

That provoked a roguish grin from him. “Jealous?”

Here was the teasing Mokuba you expected. “Of those airheads? Not likely.”

“It’s okay if you are. I mean, look at me!” He held out his arms. “I completely understand why you want me all to yourself.” Then he made a show of winking at you.

You matched his theatrical behavior. “Yes. I’d love to keep as my own! That’s exactly why I ran off with you!” You pounced on him and wrapped your arms around his neck. With a giant SMACK you kissed his cheek. After your exaggerated kiss, you wanted to pull away from him, but he wrapped his arms around your waist and kept you close.

He swung you around in a circle, startling the people surrounding the two of you and causing a few of them to leap back in alarm. You might have accidentally kicked someone; you weren’t sure. Then he put you down and kept an arm around your waist as he started walking. With his arm wrapped around you, you were forced to keep pace with him.

“Since you’re my date, I guess I should treat you properly,” Mokuba teased. “After we’re done looking at art, let me take you out to dinner?”

You playfully shoved him. “Don’t be silly. You know I’m going to have to hunt down Katsu eventually.”

“He didn’t tell you?” Mokuba stopped walking so he could stare at you.

“Tell me what?” Now you were worried. What could Katsu be up to?

Mokuba reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He unlocked it and slid his finger around on the screen. After a moment, he showed it to you.

You looked at his screen and realized that he was showing you a text message from Katsu. “Leaving now. Have fun! But not too much! ♥”

You shook your head. “He’s ridiculous. Well, I guess I have to ask you for a ride home then.” You felt bad about asking Mokuba to take you home later. “Sorry.”

“It’s no problem at all.” He put his phone away. “I just hope you know you have to keep me company at dinner in exchange.”

You looked up at Mokuba, a wry smile tugging one side of your lips. “Deal.”

“Good. OH! Here’s the painting I wanted to show you!” He released your waist so he could grab both your shoulders. He gently turned you until you were facing a painting of fairies dancing in the woods. “What do you think?” he whispered, his mouth close to your ear.

You stepped forward to get a better look at the picture and broke his contact with you in the process. Between the shadowed woods and all the dancing fairies, there was a lot going on in the picture. The very first thing that caught your eye was the fairy queen sitting in the background. You could tell that she was a queen from the way she sat back against a throne of tree branches with a laurel wreath in her hair.

She was stagnant. The rest of the fairies were clearly dancing, but she seemed to simply be sitting in the background and staring directly at the viewer. She was fascinating and beautiful.

“Do you like it?”

Mokuba’s question derailed your thoughts about the fairy queen. You turned away from the painting to look at Mokuba. “It’s lovely. I really love the colors that the artist used.” The way each fairy seemed to be glowing was beautiful. Each fairy seemed to have its own unique color. That didn’t stop you from being surprised that Mokuba was considering buying it. The painting looked nothing like anything from the Kaiba Mansion. “What do you plan to do with it? Put it in Kaiba’s bedroom and see how long it takes him to notice?”

“I thought you might like it, actually.”

“Really?” You raised an eyebrow at Mokuba. “Why?”

He stepped toward the painting. Then he pointed to the queen, almost but not quite touching the canvas. “She reminded me of you.”

“What?” You let out a bark of laughter. “You’re so silly, Mokuba. I look nothing like her.”

He was clearly skeptical. “She’s got almost exactly the same hair that you do, and her eyes are the same color too.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Plus, she’s watching over a dance, and you do that all the time. I don’t know.” He frowned. “You’re not offended, are you?”

Your eyes widened. “Oh no! Of course not! She’s beautiful! I just didn’t see the resemblance.”

Mokuba’s gaze locked with yours, and he stepped forward until he was almost touching you. “You’re beautiful, too.”

You didn’t know what to say. Katsu said stuff like this to you all the time, but he was always playful so that it didn’t make you uncomfortable. Mokuba was so… serious. You stepped back, looking down at your shoes. Then you fell back on all your years of training. “Thank you.” Accepting a compliment and thanking the giver were the polite things to do.

“Oh! Could you wait here a moment?” Now that Mokuba didn’t sound so serious, you were able to look back up at him. He wasn’t looking at you anymore. “I’ll be right back.” Then he jogged away.

You watched as he wove in and out of the crowd. He caught up with a man and tapped the man on the shoulder. The man turned to face Mokuba and grinned. Then they began to talk, and you lost interest. You turned back to the picture. This time, you tried to look at the rest of the photo and not just the centerpiece. All of the other fairies seemed to be having a good time just dancing with each other. There were even a few animals scattered throughout the picture.

You started to wonder why the queen wasn’t dancing or even looking at the dancers. Was she forbidden? Was it her job to oversee the event, never able to join in on the fun? Maybe she just didn’t want to join in. Except, who wouldn’t want to join in on a celebration?

Maybe she was just waiting for her king?

“Okay! It’s time to go get something to eat!” Mokuba’s voice startled you so much that you jumped. Your hand had been reaching out for the fairy queen, but now it was resting firmly against the painting. The moment you realized that you were touching it, you yanked back your arm and studied the area you’d touched.

Luckily, it seemed to be unharmed.

“It’s okay if you touch it. I bought it for you a few days ago.”

You couldn’t believe what Mokuba had just said. “You… bought it for **me**? A few days ago?” You weren’t sure which part you should consider first.

“I told you that I thought you would like it.” Mokuba shrugged. “I figured if you didn’t, I could always just hang it up in a guest room or something. We have plenty of those.”

“Oh. Um. Thank you.” You weren’t sure what else to say. “It’s a nice present.”

Mokuba nodded. “Now can we go get something to eat? I’m starving!” He didn’t wait for a response before grabbing your hand and dragging you out of the conference center.

Dinner with Mokuba turned into hours of just sitting with Mokuba and talking. He took you to a public location, so there were more than a few pictures taken of the two of you, but for once, you didn’t worry about the press. You didn’t concern yourself with what type of story they would choose to write tomorrow. It was just dinner between two close friends. Surely that was obvious to everyone?

Then he drove you home. The car ride was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. You thought about how unexpected your day had been. Just this morning, you hadn’t known that you were going to spend the day with Mokuba.

Then you furrowed your brow. You still didn’t know anything about Duke Devlin. “Katsu, you jerk!” You pulled out your cellphone and began sending him angry texts.

“What’s wrong?” Mokuba asked, reminding you that you were still in the car with him.

“Katsu promised to tell me everything he knows about Duke, and he lied! Jerk. I bet he doesn’t even know anything.” You were sure to include that last bit in one of your texts.

“Why is this guy so important to you?”

“He isn’t!” For some reason, Mokuba’s question made you feel defensive. “He approached me, and I want to know who he is.” You looked over at Mokuba and noted the way he was clutching the wheel with both hands. His back was upright and stiff too. Then you thought back to the way Duke had run from Kaiba. It was clear that Kaiba didn’t like Duke. You had dismissed it at the time because Kaiba didn’t like anyone, but maybe there was more to it?

You didn’t know if you should bring it up with Mokuba. Then again... “Is there something I should know about Duke Devlin?” 

“What do you mean?” Mokuba’s surprise wasn’t forced. 

“Well, your brother didn’t seem to like him very much. He scared Duke off when he was talking to me yesterday.”

You expected Mokuba to immediately know why Kaiba did that. He almost seemed to be able to read his brother’s mind. Mokuba always had the answers when the question involved Seto Kaiba.

“I... don’t know.” 

Except now, apparently. Well, nothing had felt off about Kaiba’s behavior last night. Maybe you were just overthinking things. Even if you weren’t, Mokuba was making it very obvious that he wasn’t going to share.

The car lapsed back into silence until Mokuba pulled into your driveway. He turned off his car and sat back. “Someone gave me tickets to a play this weekend. Want to go with me?”

“Sure! It sounds like fun.” Even if the play was awful, you would still have a good time with Mokuba. His sense of humor reminded you of Katsu in a lot of ways. You pushed open the car door and started to tell Mokuba that you would see him later.

He opened his own door, interrupting you. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Of course I do!” Mokuba teased. “If I don’t, then some creepy guy might grab you! Anyone could be waiting in the bushes.”

You laughed. “Of course.” It was a short walk to your front door. You turned your back to the door and faced him. “Well, I’m at my door safe and sound. You reached out and grabbed Mokuba’s arm. “I’m glad we’re becoming such good friends.” You squeezed his arm slightly.

For some reason, Mokuba seemed confused by your comment. He didn't respond. He reached forward, pressing his hands against your front door and pinning you between his arms. He leaned down, silently lowering his face until it was close to your own.

The two of you stood there for a moment, neither of you speaking or moving at all. Then Mokuba leaned forward and kissed your forehead. “I'll see you this weekend,” he whispered.

He left without another word, and you found yourself leaning against the door as you watched him leave.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of the end of the first "act". It kind of wraps some stuff up and sets the stage for the next "act" of this story. Soon I'll have to commit to one of the Kaiba brothers.
> 
> So, if you haven't made your voice heard yet: Seto Kaiba or Mokuba Kaiba? Think on it and share your opinions~
> 
> Enjoy!

At ten o’clock, exactly, you entered a small café near your home and scanned the room. Duke Devlin was already sitting at a small table for two and staring directly at you. You pushed your sunglasses up so they settled on the top of your head and joined him at the table. 

“Good morning, Mr. Devlin.” He’d wanted to meet you for business, so you were trying to remain professional. 

“Please just call me Duke.”

You smiled at him but didn’t respond. Instead, you waved over a waitress and ordered a drink. You didn’t order anything to eat since you were still on the fence about Duke. He didn’t seem to be well-liked in general, and you were hesitant to even be seen with him like this. In fact, you were only here because Duke promised that he would make it worth your time. 

Well, that and Katsu convinced you to give him a chance. According to Katsu, you should just give any hot guy a chance. 

“So, Duke, what did you want to talk to me about?” 

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. “No small talk? Well, I’ll get straight to the point then. I’d like you to go to a few public events as my date. I’ve been taking over my father’s chain of gaming shops, and it’s been difficult because of my reputation. I think that if I were seen with you, people would start to take me seriously.”

You bit your lip, unsure where to start. “I’m not a miracle worker, and I don’t really go out with people to make them look good.” Nervously, you took a sip of your recently-arrived drink. “Being seen with me might not do anything for your reputation.”

“People liked Seto Kaiba more after he was seen with you a few times. He’s an asshole. Everyone knows he’s an asshole, but somehow, that was something people could forgive as long as he seemed to be involved with you. You don’t have to guarantee results.” 

“Kaiba does business with my father. That’s why I’m around him sometimes. Nothing was going on between us and he wasn’t using me to make himself look good.” You stared down at your cup. It would be unfair to let anyone think that Kaiba needed you to look good. He didn’t. His company did just fine even when the press had nothing nice to say about him.

“I know that.” Duke scoffed. “I went to school with the guy. He’s arrogant. I doubt he even knows how to ask for help. That doesn’t mean that you didn’t help him—”

“I didn’t,” you protested. After hanging out with Mokuba for so long, it felt weird coming to Kaiba’s defense like this. Usually that was Mokuba’s job. “Seto Kaiba never wanted to be seen with me.” You wanted to lie and say that it wasn’t any sort of business arrangement, but you couldn’t. That didn’t mean that Duke didn’t have entirely the wrong idea about Kaiba.

“Fine,” Duke conceded. “I still would like you to accompany me to a few public outings. I think one in particular might interest you. Your father is trying to expand his business, correct?” 

You weren’t sure how much you could say about that. It wasn’t a secret that your father was starting to do more business overseas, but you still didn’t feel comfortable discussing it with a near stranger. So you simply nodded.

“As you know, Industrial Illusions is holding their annual conference soon. Pegasus is going to announce his plans for the year, and I have an invite. If you come with me, you might get the chance to talk to Pegasus for your father, and I get a date who makes me look good as additions to my game are presented.” 

His deal was a decent one. Duke ran in different circles since part of his gaming chain was based in the United States. It was true that your father wanted to expand into that market, and he wanted to discuss his plans with Pegasus. You just didn’t know if you were the right person to approach Pegasus. 

You studied Duke. He worked closely with Pegasus. It was a fact that you’d stumbled across while researching him. He’d developed some game that was produced by Pegasus’ company. If he introduced you to Pegasus, you might actually get a real chance to talk to the man. 

“I’ll have to get back to you on that one,” you admitted. Your father might object to the idea. “But assuming that I agree to join you at the conference, I’ll want to set down some ground rules.” You made eye contact with Duke so he would know that you were serious. “First, we’re not dating. I don’t want to lie to the press. Second, we don’t share a room. I’ll make my own travel arrangements. Third…” You trailed off, unsure about the third rule. 

Duke looked like a nice enough guy but looks could be deceiving. Kaiba could be perfectly charming if he needed or wanted to put forth the effort, and he was a huge jerk. You wanted to know what it was like to go to school with Kaiba. Duke probably had some sort of insight into Kaiba that you didn’t. Except asking Duke about it would tell him too much about you. 

“Nevermind.” You shook your head. “So, do you agree? I’m not your girlfriend, and we’re not sleeping together.”

Duke shrugged. “Fine with me. That way I can be seen with other women.” He winked. “You and I can just be friends, but we have to make it obvious that we’re both at any events together. We arrive together, stick together for most of the event, and leave together. Okay?” 

“Sure.” It was reasonable. Maybe Katsu was right. This guy wasn’t too bad. It would be good for you to meet new people. “So I’ll get back to you on the conference and let you know if I want to go to it. I’ll probably have an answer tomorrow.” 

“Cool.” Duke grinned and leaned forward. “Can I ask you a question?” 

“Yes?” He could ask, but that didn’t mean you’d answer it.

“What went on with you and Kaiba anyway?”

“Nothing.” You were instantly on the defensive. You knew what the rumors said, but the rumors weren’t true. The way people accused him of leading you on was just wrong. He never led you on, and you hated that people were so willing to believe he would do that. “I told you. He and my father do business. I see him around from time to time. We’re on decent terms—well, as decent as is possible with Kaiba.” That was kind of true. He didn’t glare at you whenever he saw you. He was mostly back to ignoring you unless you spoke to him first. 

Duke laughed. “Sure. Look, I told you I went to school with the guy, right? Nobody defends Kaiba like you do.” He pointed at you. “I see the way you change when his name comes up. Even Yugi Muto wasn’t as ready to stand up for him, and Yugi saw something redeeming about Kaiba. I still don’t know why.” 

“Yugi who?” _Oh dear lord. Was Kaiba gay?_ If this Yugi person was one of Kaiba’s ex-lovers, you didn’t know what you would do.

“You know, Yugi Muto.” Duke scanned your face, frowning. “The King of Games?” 

That wasn’t ringing any bells at all. You shook your head and shrugged. 

“The guy Kaiba always wanted to beat in Duel Monsters?” 

“OH! Oh.” Now it made some sense. “That stupid game. Yeah, I don’t follow it. I tried once.” Since Kaiba loved the game so much, you had tried to get into it, but you just didn’t have the patience for a card game. You liked people, and you didn’t have a very competitive spirit. Plus, Katsu always beat you. “If Kaiba wanted to beat Yugi so much… why would they be friends?” That made no sense. 

“They weren’t. Well, Yugi liked Kaiba. Yugi was always friendly with him. Kaiba was just an ass. Yugi was at our school too, so I saw them interact pretty often.” 

You stared at Duke. This was new information to you. You’d read all about the rivalry in the news. You’d rooted for Kaiba as he tried to win back his title. You just never knew that Kaiba saw Yugi so often or that they went to the same school. There was a lot that you didn’t know about Kaiba. 

Maybe you would go out with Duke even if you didn’t go to the conference with him. “You had some problems with the King of Games, too, right?” If you were remembering correctly, that was exactly why Duke’s reputation was so bad. Nobody liked a bully. Especially when that bully was mean to a public figure. 

“I see you’ve looked me up since the last time we talked. I caught your interest, didn’t I?”

You rolled your eyes. “I wanted to know who you are before I talked to you. But you haven’t answered my question.” 

“I was young, and I thought that beating the King of Games would help my career. Being the champion helped Kaiba’s business you know?” You nodded at that. Kaiba’s rise to the top of the gaming world had helped his company. “So I thought that I’d do the same thing. I just… did it the wrong way.” 

“Blackmail, right?” You tried to take a sip of your drink and discovered that it was empty. Alarmed, you pulled out your phone and checked the time. Somehow you’d been sitting with Duke for over an hour!

Duke was starting to tell you about his first meeting with Yugi, but you didn’t have time to listen to him now. “I’m sorry,” you interrupted. “I have somewhere I need to be. We’ll get together and talk another time, okay?” You pulled out some money for your drink and tried to leave it on the table, but Duke wouldn’t let you. 

“Don’t worry about it.” He held your hand shut in a fist around your money. “My treat.” 

“Are you—”

“It was just a drink.” 

You slowly put your money away. “Okay. Well. Bye!” 

He hummed, and then as you were leaving, he called out. “And let me buy you an actual meal next time!” 

You felt your cheeks heat up as you realized that Duke knew why you had refrained from ordering food. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone into that meeting with such low expectations of him. Well, Katsu was waiting for you, so you didn’t have time to apologize or argue. You just waved good-bye as you opened the door and left. 

Katsu was already at your place by the time you made it home. You found him in your room, bouncing around as he looked through all your clothes. 

“What took you so long?! It’s time to go shopping~” 

You made a face, showing exactly how you felt about that plan. “Do we have to? I have plenty of outfits I’ve never even worn before… I’m sure something is suitable for a play.” 

“But we want to knock Mokuba off his feet!” 

You just stared at Katsu and tried to hold back your grin. It was a failed attempt. You had to smile at his enthusiasm. “I think I’m okay with Mokuba staying on his feet. Really.” 

Katsu didn’t agree, and he refused to let you get out of the shopping trip. He dragged you into his car, ignoring your protests the entire time.

Once he had you locked in his moving car, he said the words you didn’t want to hear. “You know this is a date, right?” 

“It’s not a date.” It couldn’t be a date. In fact, you were trying very hard to avoid thinking about Mokuba in that context. “We’re just friends.” 

“Right. Right. And that’s why you left me a voicemail talking about how Mokuba almost kissed you?” Katsu tapped his phone. “I still have that voicemail, if you’d like to listen to it.” 

Pouting, you glared out the window. “I was just confused. It was a weird night. Especially after _you_ ditched me. He just kissed my forehead. It was really more of a brotherly thing.” That’s what you were telling yourself. 

Katsu was silent, and you assumed that he was dropping the subject. That was good. You didn’t want to talk about it. Mokuba was just a friend, and he was younger than you were. Why would he be interested in something more? No—

“Uh, Katsu? Can you call me back?” 

“HEY!” you shouted. That was your voicemail playing over Katsu’s speakers. You grabbed Katsu’s phone from its spot in his car.

“I think Mokuba almost kissed me. Well, I’m not sure. I mean, he didn’t. But—” You’d managed to turn off the Bluetooth, disconnecting the phone from his car and stopping your voicemail from playing. Then you deleted the voicemail.

“I can’t do this right now, Katsu.” Maybe you were slowly starting to move on from your crush on Kaiba, but Mokuba was his little brother. If you had any feelings for Mokuba, they were probably just displaced feelings for the elder Kaiba. 

“How was your meeting with Duke anyway?” 

You glanced over at Katsu, startled by his sudden change in topic, but he was too busy looking for a parking spot. “It was fine. He’s… interesting. Did you know he went to school with Kaiba?” 

“Yeah.” Katsu pulled into a space and turned off his car. “Domino High. It’s a pretty big school you know. A lot of people went to school with Kaiba. Doesn’t mean anything.” 

You decided not to tell Katsu about everything Duke had said about Kaiba. Katsu probably wouldn’t be happy to know that you were still fishing for information about him. Maybe you shouldn’t be, but you couldn’t stop yourself. 

Seto Kaiba was an addiction.

\-----

Somehow, Katsu managed to get you into a dark red dress for your outing (you wouldn’t think of it as a date) with Mokuba. It was a modest dress with a decent hemline and only the slightest bit of cleavage, but it was still really tight and clung to your body.

Since you wore a variety of different clothes all the time, the dress wasn’t uncomfortable. You simply would have preferred something a bit more casual. It didn’t help that Katsu also forced you to wear red lipstick instead of your usual makeup. He even did your eyeliner, giving you a dark smudged eye. 

Everything about your outfit screamed, “Look at me!” and “I want to impress you!” 

Katsu sucked sometimes. 

So you were surprised when Mokuba didn’t say anything after he picked you up. He’d given you the once-over, you were sure of that, but he hadn’t said a word as he opened the passenger door of his car. His silence had you on edge. You didn’t know if he thought you looked nice. Maybe he thought it was too much? 

You studied Mokuba. He was dressed nicely too, but he was still wearing a pair of jeans. Granted those jeans were paired with a button-up shirt, but he still looked very casual. 

Katsu was crazy. He clearly didn’t know what was going on between you and Mokuba. Now you felt ridiculous in your dress and makeup. Hopefully Mokuba didn’t think that you were trying to make this a date. 

The silence in the car eventually got to you, and you tried to ask Mokuba what play he had tickets for, but you didn’t recognize the name once he responded. The car lapsed back into an awkward silence.

“Are you going to the Industrial Illusions conference with your brother?” You didn’t actually know if Kaiba would go to that conference, but you assumed that he would. Asking Mokuba about it would be rude, but you could ask if Mokuba was going. 

Mokuba had to think about it for a moment. “Nah. I don’t think so. Did your dad get an invite or something?” 

You shook your head even though Mokuba wasn’t looking at you. “He wishes. He hasn’t been able to contact Pegasus yet.” 

Mokuba simply hummed in response, and then the two of you lapsed back into silence. This time it was a comfortable silence. It was the kind of silence you were getting used to with Mokuba. 

Then he reached over and grabbed your hand. He held it, letting both your hands rest in the space between your seats, and squeezed your hand slightly. “I’m glad you agreed to join me today,” he commented as he pulled up to a red light. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him look over at you, but you stared straight ahead at the red light. “You’re a fun person to hang out with, Mokuba.” 

“I enjoy spending time with you, too.” The light turned green, and Mokuba took off, but he continued to hold your hand. He didn’t release it until he pulled up in front of the theater. The valet opened your door for you while another one opened Mokuba’s and took his valet key. 

As the two of you walked into the theater, Mokuba placed a hand on the small of your back. It was an unfamiliar sensation, and you were already slightly on edge because of the way he’d held your hand in the car. 

It was confusing. Men did sometimes place their hand on the small of your back or entwine their arm with yours, but that was when they were escorting you somewhere formal. Nobody had ever treated you like this in any sort of casual setting. 

You allowed Mokuba to lead you to your seats without comment. He asked if you wanted a drink as the two of you were walking through the lobby, but you simply shook your head. You were fine. If you needed something, you could come back during intermission and get it. 

The play wasn’t very good. One of the actors forgot their lines a few times, and at some point, someone’s wig fell off. Of course, Mokuba leaned over and whispered jokes into your ear every time something bad happened, so it was still a lot of fun. The play wasn’t supposed to be a comedy, as far as you could tell, but Mokuba turned it into one. 

You completely forgot how nervous you were. 

Until Mokuba dropped you off at home. 

He insisted on walking you up to your door again, but this time, he grabbed your hand once you were near the door. He turned your hand so that your palm was facing up and rubbed circles into your palm with his thumb. “We should do this again sometime,” he suggested. 

You had a feeling that you knew what he meant, but you didn’t know how to respond to that, so you feigned ignorance. “Maybe next time we’ll bring Katsu. I think he would’ve liked to see that wig fall off.” 

Mokuba was looking at you with a single eyebrow raised. He smirked, and in that instant, he reminded you far too much of his brother. Then he leaned over and kissed the inside of your wrist. 

He released your hand. “Goodnight.” 

You briefly watched him stride back to his car before letting yourself into your house. The fact that Mokuba had reminded you of his brother for a moment—even though it was only for a moment—scared you. You couldn’t let yourself fall for Mokuba just because he was a Kaiba. It was unfair to him, and it just showed that you still had feelings for Seto. 

Maybe it was time to take a short trip to the States. You pulled out your phone and sent a quick text to Duke. _I’m in. Let’s go to the conference together._


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is the hardest story to write. Partially because they are such long chapters, and partially because this story is emotionally draining. I'm currently working on chapter 10, and right now, I am leaning toward Mokuba for the endgame.  
>   
> This reader, for a few reasons, is the hardest to write, but I'm actually pleased with this chapter. I wasn't at first, but as I kept writing, I built up some momentum. I feel like parts of this chapter really work. ~~And then other parts are a pile of fail. D:~~  
>   
>  **Chapter notes:**  
>  1::Dialogue in italics is in English.  
> 2::Zigfried von Schroeder is basically as obsessed with bringing Kaiba down as Kaiba is with defeating Yugi. Also, since the arc that Zigfried shows up in is located in the USA, I decided that Zigfried's second language is probably English and not Japanese. (His first is most likely German, given the way he refers to Kaiba as "Herr Kaiba," but I could be wrong.)  
> 3::I secretly hate the exchange between the reader and Pegasus. D: It's probably the weakest part of the chapter.  
>  **If you'd like, let me know how this chapter made you _feel_. That will let me know how successful it really was. **  
>  Enjoy~?

The dress that you were wearing tonight was not a dress that you would have picked out yourself. It was a little bit too low in the front, and the teasing bits of black lace that decorated the neckline didn’t make you feel comfortably covered. The emerald color wasn’t a color that you would have gravitated toward naturally either. 

But Katsu liked it, and as a condition of coming with you on your trip to America, Katsu got full control over your wardrobe. With him in control, you counted yourself lucky that the dress was at least an appropriate length and wasn’t clinging to your body like a second skin.

You honestly should have spent more time bartering with Katsu. Giving him full control of your wardrobe was stupid. If you hadn’t been so desperate to convince him to come with you, then you might have been able to say no to his demands. 

Except he spoke English so much better than you did, and he could drive in America. You could barely drive in Japan, and at least there you actually knew the traffic laws. Here, you needed Katsu. 

Of course, you had assumed that he would accompany you the entire time. Your eyes shifted over to him before you looked back at the game he was currently playing. "Are you sure you won't come with me?" It was a question you kept asking, and the answer was always a letdown.

“I wasn’t invited.” Katsu turned his head slightly and kept his eyes on the screen as he stuck his tongue out at you. He continued to fire his gun at all the enemies that were trying to swarm him. 

“You could still go,” you whined. “You’re a pro at getting into events you’re not invited to!” Honestly, you would just feel better if you knew someone. Well, someone other than Duke. Since you really didn’t know Duke very well, he didn’t actually count. 

“Nah. I don’t feel like it.” 

You huffed and pouted, but he wasn’t looking at you, and it wouldn’t have worked on him anyway.

“Shouldn’t you be in your own room, waiting for your date?” 

Now it was your turn to stick your tongue out. “I told him to pick me up here.” Then, after a short pause. “He’s not my date.”

Katsu didn’t respond. He was too busy sneaking around the corner of a hallway. You exhaled quickly and loudly, letting him know how frustrated you were with him, and idly played with your skirt. 

Then someone knocked on his door, probably Duke, and he paused the game so he could leap off the couch and answer the door. 

"Are you serious?!" you cried, before he opened the door, indignant that he would pause his game for Duke but not you. 

Katsu just ignored you as he pulled the door open. “Hey, Duke! Ready for your date?”

You thought about unpausing his game but decided to be nice for now. From your spot on the couch, you grinned at Duke as he entered the room. “I’m trying to convince Katsu to join us. He likes games, too.” You held up the controller for emphasis. 

It was pretty obvious that Duke didn’t like that idea. His lips turned down as he glanced between you and Katsu. “Uh… if he wants, he might be able to come. Seating’s pretty limited though.” 

“See! I told you so!” Katsu leapt over the back of the couch and landed next to you. “I’m not invited, and I don’t want to go anyway.” He snatched the controller from you and plucked your gloves off the table. He dropped the gloves into your hands before pushing you away. 

“I don’t like them.” You dropped the gloves on the couch as you stood. “They look silly.”

“Do not, and you have to wear them because I say so. So put them on.” 

You sighed and slid the gloves onto your hands. Without another word, you left Katsu’s room. Duke followed you, closing Katsu’s door behind himself. You threaded your arm through Duke’s. “Sorry about that,” you said. You knew that you and Katsu could be overwhelming to other people.

“No problem. You look nice, by the way.” 

“Thank you.” You decided to leave out the part where it was entirely because of Katsu. 

The rest of the journey to the exhibition—the elevator’s descent, the car ride, even the walk into the building where it was held—was awkward and silent. You didn’t have anything to say to Duke, and he didn’t have much to say to you either. Both of you did try to start conversations, but they quickly died. So you were relieved when he finally led you into the conference hall. 

It gave you something to do. Socializing came easy for you. Duke introduced you to a number of people, and even though they all spoke English, you were able to smile and make small talk. 

Until you saw Kaiba out of the corner of your eye. Your face turned toward him, and you almost hurt yourself as your neck abruptly twisted. He was here, and you felt like a silly little girl in your lacy dress and gloves. 

You turned away from him, hoping he wouldn’t notice you and wishing you could just cover your face with your hair. His presence here was expected, really it was, but that didn’t mean that you were prepared to see him. 

Luckily, the exhibitions were about to start, and Duke pulled you over to sit near a duel that was about to begin. The announcer began to explain all of the new technology and monsters that would be used in the duel, and you couldn’t help but note that all of the technology was Kaiba Corp. technology. Even in America, Kaiba Corp. was the most advanced company. 

He clearly dominated the gaming industry, and even though you had no right to the feeling, you felt proud of Kaiba. 

The duel began. Since Kaiba was a duelist, you were familiar with the game and able to follow the duel, but it was difficult to care about it when you weren’t a fan of the game on its own. Both duelists had to be high ranking duelists if they were chosen to show off the new technology and changes to the game, but they couldn’t catch your interest. 

Partway through the duel, you turned to say something to Duke, but he was deep in conversation with the two men on his other side. Not wanting to interrupt his conversation, but also unwilling to remain at the table, you excused yourself. You expected Duke to ask if you wanted him to go with you, and you were ready to claim that you needed to use the ladies’ room, but he barely acknowledged you as you stood up. 

Which was probably for the best. 

You let the crowd carry you around as you moved from exhibit to exhibit. Since you were the youngest in your family, and your brother was far too serious for games, you hadn’t ever realized that there were so many games out there. You moved from game to game, and most of the time, you weren’t even familiar with whatever was being played. 

You were watching two people play chess using a life-size set when a hand wrapped around the top of your arm. You let out cry of surprise as you turned to find Kaiba standing behind you. 

“What are you doing here with _Devlin_?” Kaiba spat out Duke’s last name as if he were some sort of disease. 

You tried to pull your arm out of his vice-like grip and failed. “None of your business.” 

His grip on your arm tightened as he began to walk away, dragging you with him. 

Kaiba pulled you toward the edge of the room and didn’t stop until you were out of earshot of anyone else. “What are you up to?” 

“I’m not up to anything, Kaiba.”

Kaiba growled, displeased by your response, and pulled you closer. His breath tickled your ear as he spoke, and you might have become weak in your knees if his grip on your arm didn’t hurt so much. “Don’t you dare try playing games with my brother.” 

“Why would I—?” You turned your face toward him. He was so close that your nose brushed against his chin, and for a brief moment, you were tempted to try leaning in to kiss him. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” 

“You might have everyone fooled with your innocent act, but I see the way you’re hooking your claws into my brother. I might not have said anything before, but I refuse to watch you spend time with another man while you’re leading my brother on.” 

You shut your eyes for a moment and willed yourself not to start crying. Kaiba was wrong. You knew that he was wrong. But that didn’t mean that his words didn’t hurt. He obviously didn’t think very highly of you, but before now, you never realized just what he thought about you. After all of your efforts to not seem like you were chasing after his brother, that was exactly what he thought you were doing. 

“I am not involved with your brother.” You tried to keep your voice even, but you were unable to maintain eye contact with him. “We’re just friends.” You wanted to explain that Duke was nothing more than an acquaintance, but you were interrupted by another voice.

“Kaiba-boy~! Who is this lovely lady and why are you hiding her over here? Hmmm?”

“Pegasus,” Kaiba growled, making the name sound like a curse. He released your arm and spun you around so that you were facing the other man. “Stop using that ridiculous nickname.” 

You studied the other man. Kaiba had called him Pegasus, and while you’d seen some pictures of the man, this was your first time meeting him in person. 

“Oh, you’re no fun!” Pegasus’ eye shifted over to you before refocusing on Kaiba. “I suppose you aren’t going to be polite and introduce me to your date.” 

“She’s not my—”

“Pegasus Crawford,” Pegasus interrupted Kaiba. He held out his hand for you to shake. “I admit, I’ve never seen Kaiba with a woman before. I was starting to think he swung for the other team~” 

“My personal life is none of your business, Pegasus.” 

Pegasus ignored Kaiba as he reached forward and grabbed your hand. “I see we’ll have to get away from Kaiba-boy if we want to talk properly~” He didn’t give you any time to protest as he pulled you away from Kaiba and wrapped an arm around your waist. As one of Pegasus’ hands landed on your back, you could hear Kaiba growl, but you were too nervous to look back at him. 

“Now, I’ve heard some interesting things about you.” Pegasus didn’t let you get a word in as he led you to the dance floor and into an easy dance. “Of course, everyone read all the articles that ran on you and Mr. Kaiba over there. It was quite dramatic, and Kaiba is so rarely seen with any woman more than once. I absolutely must know what’s going on between the two of you!”

Going from Kaiba’s accusations to this man’s enthusiasm was giving you whiplash. Clearly Pegasus knew who you were, but you decided to start off by introducing yourself. Pegasus cut you off before you could go any further.

“Yes. Yes. I’ve heard all about you. Now, time for the juicy details!” He giggled, and you were slightly unnerved by the image that his behavior painted. He seemed a little bit like a teenage girl, and the bright purple suit and long white hair weren't helping you dispel that image. 

“I’m not here with Kaiba,” you explained as he spun you around on the dance floor. 

“Nonsense! I saw the way the two of you were talking. So intimate~” 

This man really would not let you get a word in edgewise, and now you were really wondering if you would even be able to discuss business with him. He seemed far too invested in your personal life.

“He was just surprised to see me. Like I said, I didn’t come here with him. I actual—”

“How disappointing!” 

You looked around and tried to spot Kaiba. Trying to find him in this crowded room was nearly impossible. Pegasus was talking to you, and you knew that you should be trying to sell your father’s company to him, but you just couldn’t. This man was convinced that you were involved with Kaiba, and Kaiba was convinced that you were toying with his little brother, and all you ever wanted was to find some way to get past all your feelings about Kaiba. 

You needed to collect yourself and bottle up your emotions before you caused another scene. It was probably a good thing that you couldn’t find Kaiba in the crowd. Turning back to Pegasus, you summoned up your most charming smile. “If you’d like to talk with me about Seto Kaiba, you’ll simply have to visit me in Japan sometime.” You stepped out of his grip, avoiding any other dancers as you stopped moving. “Right now, I should probably go find my date, but I do hope to speak with you soon!” 

You turned and walked away from him, hoping you weren’t losing a huge opportunity but knowing that you weren’t ready to talk to him if you needed to navigate through a discussion about Kaiba. 

As you waded through the crowds and back toward where all the Duel Monsters demonstrations were located, you didn’t know if you were hoping to find Seto Kaiba or Duke Devlin. At this point, you were almost willing to settle for anyone who actually spoke Japanese. The conversations around you were all too difficult to decipher, and it made it difficult for you to talk to anyone. 

Someone said your name, and you instinctively turned toward the voice. A man with long pink hair was staring at you. 

Uncertain about who this man was, you smiled at him. It was a friendly smile but not an open smile. This man was an unknown, and after coming from a world where you knew everyone, the unknown made you nervous.

“ _I am… and… would… you if… alright_?” 

Between the noise of the surrounding people, the duel that was going on nearby, and your poor experience with the English language, you were unable to figure out exactly what the man had just said to you. Trying not to get in the way, you moved out of the busy walkway and away from the nearby duel. “ _I am sorry, but I did not hear you,_ ” you carefully apologized, very aware of your accent. Your words were only partially true, but you weren’t about to admit that you couldn’t understand him. 

“ _It is fine. Shall… talk_?” 

Now that you could hear him a little bit better, it was clear that this man had a bit of an accent as well. It was making it harder to understand him, and you wished that Katsu were here to help you. “ _I am sorry_ ,” you apologized again. “ _It is very loud._ ” You looked around the room, desperately scanning all the nearby people with the hope that you might spot Duke. 

The man said something, and this time, possibly because you were starting to feel uncomfortable, you couldn’t make out his words. Pegasus had been able to speak Japanese, perhaps this man could, too? 

“My English isn’t very good,” you said in Japanese, hoping he would understand. It earned you a blank look from the man, and that made you feel even more uncomfortable. 

You wished that you were better at English. Not being able to communicate with this man properly just made you feel dumb. No wonder Kaiba looked down on you. 

“ _I am… cannot_ —”

The man was interrupted by another voice as a hand landed on your shoulder. Suddenly Kaiba was standing next to you and glaring at the man standing in front of you. He spoke to the man in what sounded like perfect English.

Their exchange was fast, and you couldn’t catch much of it, but you could tell from the tone of Kaiba’s voice that he was angry. He didn’t seem to like the man standing across from you. The two men exchanged a few more heated words before Kaiba wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you away. 

It was strange. This entire thing was almost like a dream. Since you didn’t know what the two men had said, you could almost imagine that Kaiba had just told him to never try flirting with you ever again.

“What was Zigfried saying to you?” Kaiba asked. 

“Zigfried? Was that his name?” You almost told Kaiba that you didn’t have a clue, but that would mean admitting that you hadn’t been able to understand the man. You weren’t about to admit that you weren’t as proficient in the language as Kaiba obviously was.

“Of course you wouldn’t be familiar with him.” Kaiba seemed to be amused at some private joke, and you weren’t sure if it was a joke at your own expense, but it was nice to see him in a good mood. “That was Zigfried von Schroeder. He’s been lurking in my shadow for years.”

Kaiba had led you up to the second floor, and the two of you were currently overlooking a duel that showed off the most recent advancements in dueling technology. Instead of admiring the holograms, you searched the crowd for Zigfried’s pink hair. His surname, Schroeder, sounded familiar, but you couldn’t place why. 

“Now, what did that sorry excuse for a businessman want from you?” 

You turned to find Kaiba staring at you. All of his attention was on you, and you lost track of your thoughts as you stared into his blue eyes. You wanted to give him an answer. You wanted to tell him exactly what he wanted to hear.

He wanted something from you. For once, Kaiba actually wanted something from you, and you had nothing to give him. 

Nothing that he wanted anyway. 

“I don’t know.” It was the truth, and one of the hardest things you’d ever said. 

Kaiba’s eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, almost pressing his body against yours, and grabbed your chin with his hand. “Don’t lie to me.” 

You willed him to understand that you weren’t lying to him because you couldn’t explain the situation to him. It was impossible to tell him that you didn’t know because you didn’t understand. 

Kaiba’s hard stare told you that he didn’t believe you. Maybe he had no real reason to believe you, but you didn’t want to lie to him. “He just wanted to talk to me,” you whispered, assuming that was what the man wanted. “He didn’t manage to tell me why before you came up and dragged me away.” 

Kaiba continued to search your face. Apparently he decided that was the truth because he released your chin. “I’d recommend that you never talk to him, but if he ever says anything about me, I want to know.” 

“If you make it worth my while, I can find him and figure out what he wanted?” 

“It would be a waste of time. Zigfried isn’t a threat.”

“Then why do you care what he said to me?” 

Kaiba was still looking at you, and if you were honest, having his undivided attention thrilled you. He even seemed to be considering your question. “It never hurts to know what your enemies are planning, even if you don’t need to waste your time fighting them.” 

You nodded, pretending to understand. It was a fairly basic concept, but you would prefer not having any enemies to worry about in the first place. 

Kaiba was apparently done talking to you. He turned away, pulling out his cellphone. 

“What time is it?” you asked, curious how long you’d been stuck in this bizarre night. 

He actually responded as he pressed his phone to his ear, and you were surprised by how late it was. You’d been here for hours, and Duke might have left by now. Even if Duke was still here, you were ready to go. Nothing was going to get done here. 

Kaiba was calling his driver to come pick him up, and you didn’t want to interrupt his call. So you waited a moment until he hung up. Then you placed at hand on his arm. He turned. “What?”

“I’m not sure where my date is. Would you give me a lift back to my hotel?” 

He sighed. “Fine, but only because Mokuba wouldn’t be happy with me if you ended up stuck here.” 

You couldn’t stop the grin that spread across your face. “Thank you!” Maybe he wasn’t giving you a ride back to your hotel because he wanted to, but he was willing to give you a ride, and that was a start. If he really did hate you, then he’d leave you stranded here. 

You followed Kaiba out of the convention center, and by the time the two of you were in front of the building, his driver was already there and waiting. The driver opened the door for both of you, and if he was surprised that someone was accompanying Kaiba, he hid it well. 

This was your first time sitting in a car with Kaiba, and being in such a small space with him made you a bit nervous. Of course you knew that he wasn’t going to try to touch you, but you wished that he would.

The driver got back into the car and started it. “Where to, Mr. Kaiba?” 

“Where are you staying?”

Kaiba’s sharp tone made you jump a little, but you told him which hotel you were staying in. He growled, and you weren’t sure what was wrong until he said, “Are you stalking me or something?” 

“I’m sorry?” You stared at him, and you knew that your mouth was slightly ajar, but you couldn’t help it. His sudden accusation made no sense. 

“We’re staying at the same hotel,” he growled. 

For a moment, you just continued to stare at him. “Oh. Really?” You tried not to sound excited by that fact, but you were. “Well, I didn’t make my reservations…” It was true. Katsu had arranged most of this trip. You weren’t surprised that you’d ended up at the same hotel as Kaiba though. Katsu liked to stay in the nicest places, and Kaiba tended to like the most expensive things. It made sense that they would select the same hotel.

Kaiba simply grunted, indicating that he didn’t believe you, before he looked back out the window. He wasn’t going to press the issue. 

You looked down at your hands and wished that, for once, you could have a conversation with him that didn’t end on a bad note. Just once. It would be nice to know that you were capable of having a civil conversation with him. 

“I’m not involved with Mokuba, you know. We’re just friends.” 

Kaiba refused to look at you. “It’s none of my business.” 

You sighed. So he could accuse you of leading your brother on, but then when you tried to bring it up again and defend yourself it was none of his business? It was like he just wanted reasons to dislike you. Everything about this situation was so unfair. 

“I told him about this trip, too. He knows I’m here and who I’m with.” 

Kaiba refused to respond, and you wanted to reach out and force him to pay attention. He was so close, but it felt like there was a barrier between the two of you. Your hand fell down onto the seat and into the space between the two of you. His leg was so close to yours. If you moved over a bit, your knees might touch his. You could easily press the side of your thigh against his, if you wanted. 

You wanted to move over. You wanted to brush against him. You clenched your hand into a fist, focusing on the small space it occupied. The small space between you and Kaiba. 

The space that was entirely too big. 

Your hotel wasn’t far from the convention center, but the rest of the car ride was torture. Your muscles stayed tense the entire time, and you felt like you spent the whole ride holding your breath. 

By the time the car stopped and the door was pulled open, you wanted Kaiba to look at you, touch you… You wanted something and everything.

You stepped out of the car and waited on the sidewalk for him. “What floor is your room on?” 

He walked past you without a word, and even though you followed him, you didn’t expect a response. He probably didn’t want to tell you. Maybe he really did think that you were creepy. 

“The top floor.” His tone stated that there shouldn’t have been any question of that. Obviously he would have wanted the nicest and biggest room, and the biggest rooms were always either on the top floor or **the** top floor.

“I’m one floor down from you. Katsu and I have adjoining suites,” you said as you followed him into the elevator. 

Kaiba rolled his eyes, clearly stating that he didn’t care where your room was. He pressed the button for the top floor, leaving you to press the button for your own floor. 

You almost didn’t. You wanted to press your luck and follow him up to his room. Maybe he’d invite you inside. A rational side of you was able to override that instinct. Kaiba would never invite you into his room. So you pressed the button for your floor and moved back toward him. 

He looked down at you and raised an eyebrow. The edges of his lips turned down, and you could see him questioning why you had to stand so close to him in an empty elevator. 

But he didn’t move away. He didn’t edge away from you. Maybe moving away would have felt like losing. Maybe it would have felt like admitting that you made him uncomfortable. You weren’t sure why he remained in the same spot, but he did. 

In the car, you hadn’t moved toward him because he could stop the car and kick you out. In his car, he had all the power, and you were too nervous. Now that you were in a neutral zone, it was different, and you felt charged with energy. Your muscles were tired of staying tense. They wanted to move. 

Your hand brushed against his. You took in a sharp breath. _Finally._

His hand moved away, but otherwise, he didn’t acknowledge your brief touch. 

The elevator was slowing to a stop, and you just wanted to throw yourself at him and kiss him. You wanted to pull his lips down to yours and run your hands through his hair as you pressed your body against him. 

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, signaling the end of your time with Kaiba. You were out of time. 

Still, you had to do something. 

“Thanks for the ride!” You placed a hand on his shoulder for balance, and in the same moment, you quickly got on your toes to place a kiss on his cheek. Then you lurched away from him before he could respond. You jumped out of the elevator, keeping your eyes locked on his face. His eyes were narrowed, but he didn’t seem angry. 

He seemed… frustrated. Maybe. The elevator doors slid shut before you could really get a handle on what his expression meant. All you could tell was that he wasn’t angry. You pivoted and skipped off to your room.

Seto Kaiba didn’t find you repulsive. The thought shouldn’t make you as happy as it did. That didn’t mean he wanted you to touch him. It didn’t mean he would kiss you anytime soon.

Yet you couldn’t stop the ridiculous grin that took over your face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been a little M.I.A. for the last two weeks because I've been slaving over this chapter. 
> 
> I think for this reader character, her struggle with loving Kaiba but not really because she doesn't know him, but still she can't get over him... It can be annoying, but I think it's something a lot of girls go through in high school (or even middle school or college?). I certainly had that guy in my life for a good solid year (but he was nowhere near Kaiba status). 
> 
> I found it hard to get back into her head, and then once I was there it was very hard to not just write. My boyfriend kept interrupting me while I was working on this and I would get irritated with him because it's just so emotional to be in this reader's headspace. 
> 
> This is a very important chapter. I don't remember what I planned for this chapter back in 2013 and even though I did have a few thousand words from then for this chapter, I couldn't pick up from where I left off and had to throw out the original. I hope that there aren't any unnatural shifts from the last chapter to this one, but please let me know if there are. 
> 
> Enjoy?

When Katsu woke you up in the morning, you were confused by this turn of events. Katsu never, ever woke up before you did. There had to be some sort of emergency, especially considering the way he was shaking you and practically shouting your name.

“Is something on fire?” You reached for your phone so you could check the time.

“Only your pants, you liar!” Katsu picked up one of your pillows and whacked you with it.

You were too tired to dodge, and he hit you right in the face. “Ow! What the hell, Katsu?!”

“Duke told me you left the party with Kaiba! You told me you were over him! We are not going down Seto Kaiba Lane again! I won’t have it!”

You groaned. It was too early for a Katsu meltdown. “I am over Kaiba,” you insisted. “When did you even talk to Duke?”

Katsu continued to frown at you. “He came by my room pissed that you left him last night. He kept pounding on the door until I opened it.” Katsu pouted. “He woke me UP." His voice tapered off into a whine. 

Oh, well. At least Duke wasn’t paying you. “I honestly couldn’t find Duke. I thought that he’d left.” You checked your phone. It wasn’t too early. Your alarm would be going off in the next thirty minutes. “Let me start a pot of coffee, and I’ll tell you what happened last night.”

Katsu flopped down next to you on your bed. “I’m serious. I don’t have the energy to re-live your failed Kaiba romance.”

You wanted to whack him with a pillow. Instead, you poked him in the side, right in his ticklish spot. He spasmed and jerked away from you. “Hey!”

You got out of bed, glaring at him. “You can’t go back to sleep. I’m sure you still need to pack.”

“Fine, but I expect all the details from last night.” Katsu followed you into the little kitchen area of your hotel room.

You filled up the little courtesy coffeepot with water. The room came with little pre-filled coffee packets for the pot, so all you had to do was open one and put it in where the grounds and filter would go. Then you turned the pot on.

You stared at the pot. It made it easier to start talking. “Kaiba thinks I’m using Mokuba. He… um, well, he cornered me last night and told me that he didn’t want me playing games with his brother.”

“Kaiba is an asshole. He doesn’t expect anyone to be a decent human being because he isn’t.”

You glanced back at Katsu. “That’s not true!”

“No!” He wagged a finger at you. “No defending him! He’s not a nice man. You know that. I know that. Mokuba probably knows it, too.”

You frowned. You didn’t have a defense for what he was saying. “Can I at least finish my story?”

Katsu nodded, and as the coffee dripped down into the pot, you told him about your night. You told him about your interactions with Kaiba and your dance with Pegasus. You mentioned the uncomfortable conversation with the man you couldn’t understand. You told him about how Kaiba gave you a ride back to the hotel.

You left out the kiss. It was only on the cheek, and that wasn’t too important. Family members kissed each other on the cheek all the time. There was nothing romantic about it.

If you were honest with yourself, you also didn’t want to know Katsu’s opinion about it.

Katsu stared at you as if you had something on your face. “What?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you reading into Kaiba’s actions from last night? You’re leaving something out.”

“I’m not, really.” You started preparing the coffee. “I don’t understand why Kaiba gave me a ride, but I may never know…”

He took his cup from you. “He only gave you a ride because that’s what Mokuba would have wanted him to do. It was for Mokuba. Not you.”

Katsu didn’t mean for his words to be cruel, but they hurt your feelings regardless. You already knew that he was right, but you couldn’t stop yourself from nursing a secret hope that maybe, just maybe, Kaiba was starting to see something in you.

As if Katsu knew what you were thinking, he said, “Don’t go back down that path, Kitten.”

“I won’t.” Katsu made a face that let you know he didn’t believe you. “No, I really won’t.” At this point, you couldn’t deal with Katsu and his well-meant but hurtful words. “I’m going to finish packing. You should pack, too. We need to be out of here by eleven.”

Katsu humphed, letting you know that he saw right through your excuse to blow him off. He still let you have your privacy and left through the door to his own room.

You showered and changed into your travel clothes. The two of you would be stuck on a plane for quite some time, and you wanted to be comfortable. Then you packed up the last of your things. At that point, you still had some time before you had to leave.

You wanted to go upstairs and knock on Kaiba’s door. You imagined Kaiba answering the door, happy to see you. Maybe he would invite you inside and give you a proper kiss?

You shut your eyes and held your breath. You didn’t know why your mind did this to you. It was just so easy to imagine a world where you were dating Kaiba. It was so easy to imagine that you could go upstairs and sit with him for a while.

Why was the impossible so easy to imagine?

Instead, you went into Katsu’s room and checked on how he was doing. Predictably, he was sleeping. He was at least wearing clothes, but you couldn’t believe that he was ready. You shook his shoulder. He reached out and whacked at your arm. Since he was mostly asleep, his hits didn’t hurt, but you were still annoyed.

“Katsu!” You shook his body harder. “Wake up! We have to leave soon, and I swear if you’re not ready, I’m going to the airport without you.”

“I’m ready. I’m ready!” He sat up. “Ugh. You’re worse than my mother.”

You gasped. Now that was just rude. “You take that back!” His mother was terrible.

“I’m packed. Go look if you don’t believe me.”

You didn’t believe him, and you wouldn’t even pretend that you did. You searched his room for any leftover items, and when you didn’t find any, you opened his suitcase a little. His clothes were stuffed in there in a lump. “You know everything is going to be wrinkled to hell when we get back?”

He shrugged. “The maids are going to wash it all either way.”

You dropped the subject and closed his suitcase. He was right, as much as it pained you to admit it. Katsu never took care of any of his things, but in this case, he had a point.

You were dreading being stuck in the same place with Katsu for hours upon end. The trip out had been fun. The two of you had watched movies together for part of the trip and slept for another part, but for the trip home, you had a feeling you were in for a lecture.

The worst part was that you felt like you deserved it. Katsu was right. You shouldn’t get back on the Seto Kaiba train. He would never be interested in you.

Katsu ended up sleeping most of the way home, leaving you to work on your schoolwork and think about Kaiba. In your defense, you tried not to think about Kaiba, and when you did think about him, you tried to think negative thoughts.

It was too hard. You adored that man. He might think that your feelings for him were silly and stupid, but you knew the way you felt about him. Even after giving up on him, you knew that you were still willing to do anything that he wanted.

He didn’t care about you. He never would.

He was a jerk.

He had accused you of being a gold-digger. He assumed you were using his brother. He thought the very worst of you, because he thought the worst of everyone.

You had better things to focus on. Like work for school. Between the days you took off while you were arranging the charity ball and this trip, you’d missed a lot of school. Your teachers were all willing to work with you, but you had a huge packet of work that was due when you went back on Monday.

So you worked and ignored any thoughts about Kaiba. You wrote essays and did readings and calculated long equations and ignored your Kaiba daydreams.

He would not marry you.

When the plane landed, most of your work was done, and Katsu was still sleeping. Probably because he had such an early morning. You shook him awake as people started to stand and gather their stuff. He was groggy, but at least he didn’t curse you like he normally did when you woke him up. You didn’t want to cause a scene on the plane.

As the two of you gathered up your luggage, you thanked Katsu for coming with you on this trip.

“Anything for you, Kitten, especially when you let me handle your wardrobe.” He grinned at you, his earlier anger forgotten.

At the exit, you each had your own drivers waiting for you, so the two of you split up with a quick goodbye. You would see each other again at school on Monday if not sooner. In the backseat of your car, you tried to rest. It was early in the morning, way before you would normally be awake, but the massive time difference between Domino and California was messing with you. When it was time to get up in Domino, it was time to go to sleep in California.

At least you had a few days to recover before you went back to school. You only had four days left until graduation, but thanks to all of the school that you missed at the end of the year, you had a lot of catch-up work to turn in to keep your grades.

On Monday, Katsu was mysteriously missing from school. You weren’t even surprised. How he could be the class Valedictorian despite all the school he missed was beyond you. If he weren’t your friend, you would hate him.

So during lunch, you spent time with your other friends. Kimiko was excited to see you and wanted to tell you all about the planning for Yumi’s wedding. It would be held shortly after graduation, and as the maid of honor, Kimiko was helping with some of the planning.

“Are you sure you can’t come to the bachelorette party? I know we’d love to have you!”

Yumi shot you a glare that said she did not want you present under any circumstances. The feeling was mutual. “Sorry, Kimi. I really can’t. I have plans with Mokuba that night.” Of course the plans had been made after you received the party invite, but nobody needed to know that.

“Oooh.” Kimi leaned over the table. “Is he going to be your plus-one to the wedding?”

Oh, right. You had R.S.V.P’ed with a plus one assuming Katsu would do you a favor. Katsu had then refused to help you out. You opened your mouth, ready to tell Kimi that you wouldn’t be bringing anyone, but Yumi beat you to it.

“She doesn’t even have a boyfriend. I doubt she’ll show up with anyone.”

“No, I’m taking Mokuba.” You smirked at Yumi, knowing that she would hate you showing up with a man who was worth more than her husband-to-be. Hopefully Mokuba would agree to be your date.

Kimiko smiled at you like the cat that got the cream. “You are going to be a Kaiba!”

You rolled your eyes. “No. Not true. Don’t tell people that.”

She sat back and smiled down at the papers in front of her. “I wish you and my brother would hit it off, but still, congrats.”

You couldn’t thank her for the thought without agreeing that you were dating Mokuba, but you knew she wouldn’t listen to further protest. So you changed the subject. “How is the wedding planning going?”

Yumi fumed, glaring daggers at you. “It’ll be the best wedding of the season.”

“Of course it will be! Mine isn’t until the fall,” Kimi teased.

You smiled and nodded as Kimi started telling you about all of the plans for the wedding. Yumi’s ruffled feathers settled as the two of you talked about her big day.

Discretely, you sent a calendar event invite to Mokuba via email. You included a short message asking him to pretty please be your plus one.

For the rest of the school day, you obsessively checked your phone, hoping that he would accept the invite. He never responded, leaving you worried that his answer would be a no. So the moment school ended for him, you called him up.

Your call went to voicemail. It only rang twice and went to voicemail. _That was strange._ You hung up without leaving a message. “Please call me?” you texted.

On your way home, you wondered if Mokuba was ignoring you or just happened to be busy right now. The last time you spoke to him was before your trip. The time zone change made communication a pain so neither you nor Katsu spoke to him during the trip. But you had sent him a few texts here and there, so it wasn’t like you had gone without contacting him at all.

You just hoped that Kaiba hadn’t convinced Mokuba that you were a con-artist. With the way your luck had been going, Mokuba was probably convinced that you were only spending time with him to get to his brother. Which wasn’t true.

By the time you pulled into your driveway, you were convinced that you would have to make some sort of grand gesture to get Mokuba’s friendship back. So you were surprised to see his car in front of your house.

You found him in your kitchen, having an after-school snack. “Nice to see you, Mokuba,” you said, sitting next to him. “I tried to call you.” Mokuba smiled, but it wasn’t as wide and bright as it normally was which made you nervous.

“Yeah, sorry about not getting back to you.” He avoided eye contact. “I figured it would be best to talk in person.”

That didn’t sound good. That sounded like a breakup line if you ever heard one. You stayed silent, unsure what to say, waiting for him to drop the bomb.

“Why’d you invite me as your date to a wedding?” He finally looked straight at you, staring as if he could read your mind.

You were at a loss… Why would that bother him? “I thought you’d be a good plus one?”

“Katsu refused to go, and you’re inviting me instead, right?” Mokuba tried to sound like he was making a joke, but he couldn’t keep the smile on his face. He seemed more resigned than anything, and his words hit you like an accusation.

He was right, and you wouldn’t lie to him about it. You nodded. “But I asked Katsu months ago. Before you and I were really friends.”

Mokuba reached out and took your hand. “I really like you. Sometimes I think you like me, too.” He stood, looming over you as you stayed seated on the tall stool. “We can be friends, if that’s what you want, but I won’t go to a wedding as your friend.” He leaned down, placing a hand on your cheek, cupping your face. “I want to be your date to the wedding.” He pressed his lips to yours, and you tilted your head back to give him a better angle. His kiss was soft, and you leaned forward for more.

He pulled away. You wanted more, and your mouth followed him part of the way. You almost fell off your stool. He stepped away, releasing you from his hold. “You don’t have to answer now, and even if we go to the wedding together, it doesn’t have to mean we’re suddenly dating. But I won’t go with you unless it’s a date. It wouldn’t be fair to me.”

You stood, knocking your stool over in your hurry. It clattered to the floor, distracting you from what you had been about to do. Suddenly, you weren’t sure if you should throw yourself at Mokuba or not. As you picked up the stool, you doubted your own instincts.

Letting Mokuba keep his distance, you said, “Will you be my date to the wedding?” The words rushed out of you before you lost your nerve. Mokuba was attractive, but more than that, he was fun. You liked kissing him, and not because he was a Kaiba. Because he was the sort of man who would be honest with you, and who would be your friend even if you rejected him.

“Really?” Mokuba just stared at your for a moment. You nodded, and a smile broke out on his face. He rushed forward and lifted you off your feet in a crushing hug. “Thanks! I mean… um.” He put you down and rubbed the back of his head. After a moment, he smirked at you. “I’ll be such a great date, you’ll never want to bring Katsu anywhere again.”

You felt yourself grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, well. I expect a fantastic date, then.”

“Good.” Mokuba pulled his phone out and checked the time. “Look, I would love to stay and hang out, but I actually have practice later today, so I have to go.” He reached out and took your hand. “We’ll talk later?”

You nodded.

He leaned forward, and right before he kissed you, he paused. “If you don’t want--”

You didn’t wait to hear the rest before closing the distance and pressing your lips to his. You did want. As you kissed him, you gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. His arm wrapped around your waist, and he nibbled on your lower lip. You tried not to kiss him too hard, unsure about what he liked, but you couldn’t help but get a little carried away.

By the time he pulled away, you were out of breath. He pressed his forehead against yours. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Good. I want to take you out tomorrow. I’ll text you the details.”

“Okay.”

You walked Mokuba out, thinking about what tomorrow would bring. Maybe you weren’t ready to call Mokuba your boyfriend, but you wanted to date him. You wanted to see what a real date with him would be like.

Katsu was right. It was time to move on.

Or was it? Could you move on?

Doubts began to flood your head the moment Mokuba’s car left your driveway. You began to regret agreeing to the date. What if you ruined your friendship with Mokuba? What if your feelings for him really were misplaced feelings for his brother?

_What had you done?_

You called Katsu, hoping he would pick up because you definitely needed to talk about what had just happened.

“If you’re going to scold me for missing school again, I don’t want to hear it.”

You narrowed your eyes, reminded that he had not been at school today. “I hope you lose Valedictorian status.”

“Like I’d care.” You could almost hear him shrugging over the phone. It frustrated you to no end that he could just show up to school or classes whenever he wanted and somehow still have straight ‘A’s. “Please tell me you didn’t call to scold me when we only have days left of school.”

Right. You called because of Mokuba. “No… I think I did a stupid thing.”

“If it’s related to Kaiba, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Katsu!” You scowled even though he couldn’t see you. “Really?”

“Yes.” There was a moment of silence as you waited for him to break. Then Katsu sighed. “Okay, fine. You can tell me about your Kaiba angst. Even though I’m sick of it.”

“Thank you. I’m calling about Mokuba actually.”

“Mokuba?” Now Katsu sounded interested.

“Yeah, um…” Now that you were on the phone with Katsu, you weren’t sure what to say. So you blurted it all out. “I may have just agreed to taking him to Yumi’s wedding as my date? And we kissed like twice just now.”

“YES!” You held the phone away from your face after Katsu’s shout of joy. He continued celebrating. “Mokuba finally made a move! How was the kiss?”

“Oh um…” This was awkward. You knew that your dad and brother shouldn’t be home, but you still didn’t want anyone to overhear this. You started walking up to your room. “That’s not really important. I just… what if the date goes badly?”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’ve already been on two dates with Mokuba.”

“Those weren’t dates!”

“Were too! Just because Mokuba was a gentleman and didn’t kiss you at the end doesn’t make it not a date.”

You shut your bedroom door and fell onto your bed. “Katsu. Be serious. I’ve never really dated anyone before. What do I even do? What if I’m…” You stopped. You didn’t want to vocalize your deepest fear. _What if you only had feelings for Mokuba because he sometimes reminded you of his brother?_

“Kitten, just be yourself.”

You stared up at your ceiling. It was easy for Katsu to say that. He was so likeable, even when he was annoying.

“I’m coming over,” Katsu announced. “I’m going to help you find an outfit for tomorrow, and we’re going to watch a movie, and I’m spending the night.”

You grinned. A Katsu date was just what you needed. “Okay. I’ll see you soon?”

“Count on it.”

Then he hung up, and you were left alone with your thoughts.


End file.
